Playing God
by EnglishRose1
Summary: Lara's search for the ultimate prize, set around her love/hate relationship with Alex
1. No more dates

England, July 2001  
  
Lara Croft was bored. She was on her fourth date with Lord Peter Farringdon, the third in the line of 'eligible bachelors' her butler Hillary kept trying to set her up with. Peter was attractive enough and a nice man, but his conversation consisted entirely of stock-broking and the occasional golf story, one of which he was telling her now over dinner. Their last date had ended with sex that was so polite Lara felt as if she had to apologize for almost enjoying it.  
  
Lara sighed and moved the food around on her plate. What she really needed was an adventure, but nothing worthwhile had come up for the six weeks since the Illuminati affair and she was getting restless. She was brought back to reality by Peter reaching across the table and taking hold of her hands. He ran his thumb over the still prominent scars across her left palm.  
  
"Lara, you look so beautiful tonight, I.I love you," he said.  
  
She was somewhat taken aback, "I..." she began, but her date cut her short by crouching down beside her on one knee and producing a velvet box from his pocket.  
  
'Oh shit!' she thought, knowing what was coming.  
  
"Lara Croft, will you marry me?" he asked, opening the box to reveal an antique diamond ring.  
  
She let out a short laugh, "believe me Peter, you don't want to marry me!" she said, placing her napkin on the table.  
  
"B...but..." he stammered, "don't you love me Lara?" he asked.  
  
"Love? I tried that once..." she mused, "didn't really work out for me. So I thought I'd try cold hearted bitch for a while. It seems to suit me." Looking down at the stunned face she relented somewhat. "You'll get over me." Lara smiled with slight regret as she got up to leave. Everyone in the restaurant who had been poised to clap politely just stared as she strode out of the restaurant, her long braid swinging behind her.  
  
The parking attendant handed her the keys to the Aston Martin DB7 on the way out and Lara climbed into the car, pausing for just a second before shaking her head and turning the key in the ignition. Gravel flew as she sped away, momentarily forgetting the events of the evening in the thrill of making the drive back to the manor in a record twenty five minutes.  
  
*  
  
"You're back early Lara!" Hillary exclaimed as she entered and proceeded to pour herself a large glass of scotch.  
  
"Care to join me Hilly?" Lara asked and noticing the confused expression on the butler's face, "of course you would. There," she handed him a glass and gestured for him to sit with her by the crackling fire.  
  
"He proposed," she began and had to cut off the congratulations, "of course I couldn't possibly accept".  
  
"But Lara, a lady such as yourself really should..."  
  
She cut him off again. "No!" she exclaimed, "please stop telling me what a lady should do Hillary! And no more setting me up with eligible lords, they're all so dull, none of them could possibly understand me. I don't have to get married and I don't have to be a fucking lady! I don't pay you to try and run my life, so just stay out of it!"  
  
Hillary sighed. "You did ask me to find you someone more serious and trustworthy than Alex West..." he began, but thought better of it after the withering look that Lara shot him. He reformed his expression into that of the obedient servant. "Certainly Lady Croft, no more dates," he placed his untouched glass down on the table. "Now if you'll excuse me, the silver needs polishing," he said, heading towards the kitchen.  
  
Lara downed the remaining whiskey in her glass and looked into the fire for a while, then she stood up, grabbing the other glass from the table before making her way upstairs to bed.  
  
*  
  
The next morning Lara was leafing through the Sotheby's catalogue over breakfast, but finding nothing of interest she tossed it across the room, smiling slightly as it landed perfectly in the waste paper basket in the far corner.  
  
"More coffee?" Hillary asked stiffly, entering the dining room with the pot in his hand.  
  
"Thank you," Lara murmured in reply, smiling warmly at her butler in way of apology for her rudeness the night before. He was used to it by now though. She noticed the way he was looking at her untouched breakfast and pushed the plate towards him, "I'm not hungry," she explained.  
  
"I took the liberty of picking out a dress for you for tonight," he said, pouring the coffee expertly.  
  
"Tonight?" Lara asked absent mindedly, having begun to flick through the Saturday papers.  
  
"Yes Lara, the Archeology Association reception, remember? You were supposed to be going with Lord Farringdon..."  
  
"Well, I guess I shall have to go alone," she stated, filling in three clues of the cryptic crossword in quick succession.  
  
"Lara, I really think..." Hillary began but was cut short by the look she shot him.  
  
"Was there anything else?" she asked threateningly.  
  
"Well actually, yes." It was a long time since she had been able to intimidate him so he sat down at the table opposite her. Lara looked up in surprise. Although her domestic situation was far from the traditional this was still almost unheard of.  
  
"I'm concerned about you Lara, you haven't been eating properly and I know you were ill this morning." She sighed, nothing got past him. "And yesterday as well," he continued, chastising her like a school master. "Is everything ok?"  
  
Lara was already annoyed by his questioning. "Yes Hilly, I've just had a bug, that's all. Now stop fussing."  
  
The butler looked her straight in the eye for a moment, but Lara always won that game. He looked away and stood up, excusing himself as he backed out through the door. 


	2. Mysterious Strangers

The reception was being held in a private room at the British Museum. Lara had arrived late and all the guests were listening to a talk by the eminent archeologist Dr Jones. Not wishing to interrupt she took the opportunity to look at a couple of new exhibits and ducked into a room of Egyptian artifacts, treading quietly to avoid being noticed by the security guard. She was examining the markings on an urn and had just decided that the date label was off by at least 300 years when she heard subdued voices coming from the next room. Tiptoeing over to peer around the door she saw two men intently discussing a scroll in a cabinet at the side of the room. She couldn't quite make out what they were saying but they were definitely acting suspiciously. Lara leant into the room as far as she dared, straining to catch some of their conversation.  
  
"It's not in his house!" the younger man was struggling to keep his voice to a whisper, obviously in frustration.  
  
"This means nothing without it." Lara didn't catch the rest of the sentence, but the silver-haired gentleman gestured at the scroll. The rest of the conversation was too quiet for her to hear, although she did make out one word which was incongruous in that it wasn't English. It sounded like 'sangria' but why would they be talking about Spanish cocktails?  
  
The men turned to leave and Lara suddenly realised they were coming her way! She glanced around the room - all the display cases were glass so there was no way she could hide. At the last minute she ducked behind the door, praying silently that the men would not look behind them as they left. They certainly didn't look the sort to take too kindly to being spied on and now wasn't the time for a confrontation. As they passed Lara noticed that the older man was limping heavily and using a cane with a decorative silver handle.  
  
Lara's heart was racing but eventually when she was certain the pair had gone she stepped up to the scroll they had been examining so closely. A small card dated it at 100 a.d. and it was written in some ancient form of Arabic that she didn't quite recognise. Lara peered closely and attempted to translate it but she stumbled over the words. "He who...drinks from the...vessel...I shall give to him the...fountain?" she looked up, unsure, "of eternity. For the.blood of the.king? No, lord?" Lara sighed in confusion and scanned down to the end of the passage. "And the....resting place shall be...revealed only to he who...wears the...symbol?" The very last line, at any rate talked about some kind of map - that word was the same as the modern translation.  
  
She was at a loss as to what the scroll was talking about, but the object the two men were looking for must be the map, and they seemed to think it was important. Lara was intrigued. They must think somebody had it as they had searched his house. But they hadn't found it...  
  
*  
  
The party was in full swing when Lara arrived, and many guests turned to look at her, dressed in an elegant black dress, slit up to mid thigh and revealing just the right amount of cleavage. The two men were nowhere to be seen.  
  
"Lara Croft," the familiar American accent made her turn around, to see her long term rival tomb raider smiling wryly at her.  
  
"Ah, Mr West," she said, "what an unpleasant surprise." Of course he would be here.  
  
"You're looking beautiful as always," Alex's eyes flickered over her body as he flirted shamelessly.  
  
Lara nodded politely, "if you'll excuse me," she said.  
  
"Now now Lara, I was only going to be a gentleman and offer to buy you a drink."  
  
"Alex, the drinks are free, and you could never be a gentleman," Lara replied, sarcasm dripping from her voice. She made to go and talk to someone else, intent on finding out more about the scroll from the museum curator.  
  
But Alex grabbed her elbow with a strong hand, "come on Lara, stop playing games with me. I thought we were friends now, especially after." he moved his body closer to hers.  
  
Lara knew what he meant. She thought back to the day he was referring to, the day of the alignment that already seemed an eternity ago.  
  
*  
  
Lara had been grinning as she emerged into the bright daylight, just as the whole structure behind her collapsed. Three men were waiting by a sled, with four huskies straining at the leads, obviously desperate to get away from the scene of utter destruction. Only one of the men came running up to help her as she collapsed exhausted in the snow, patches of red immediately staining the crisp whiteness around her.  
  
"What were you thinking?" The angry question was not one she had expected to hear and she mustered enough strength to shoot the man kneeling beside her a withering glare.  
  
"I'm fine, thank you for asking," she said as Alex helped her up and then lowered her carefully into the sled which the other two had brought up next to them.  
  
"I think we'd better get moving," Bryce said with a worried glance over his shoulder. He looked down at the two tomb raiders and thought they must have been mad to come back out here in just their t-shirts. He didn't even want to guess how many degrees below freezing it was. He didn't care about Alex, but Lara looked in a bad way. "I'm going to regret this," he said as he unzipped his white down jacket and placed it gently around her shoulders. Lara smiled at him weakly, then he shivered and grabbed the reins, shouting 'mush!' as loud as he could.  
  
*  
  
Alex was also thinking of that fateful day. He had helped Lara into the coat properly, then began to rummage through her rucksack for the first aid kit he knew would be in there. Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth, but most worryingly it also covered her left arm and hand. He scooped up a handful of snow from the ground that was now flying past and used it to wash the sticky redness away. Lara flinched from the sharp pain but eventually Alex could see where the wounds were - deep gashes ran across her palm and fingers, seeping fresh blood even now.  
  
He searched her eyes. "Will you tell me what happened Lara?" he asked, bewildered. Powell had been about to throw a knife at him, but then what, he stabbed himself? That was incomprehensible. And he was sure he had actually thrown the knife. Wasn't he? Alex began bandaging Lara's hand. And where had she got these cuts from?  
  
Lara leaned back against the edge of the sled, she supposed she had to tell him what had happened so she explained that she had used the triangle to stop time and turn the knife that Powell had thrown around, so it ended up stabbing him instead of Alex.  
  
Alex was filled with wonderment that she had saved his life, but he was still confused. "But how on earth did you get the triangle and make it work before that knife got to me?"  
  
"I didn't."  
  
Realisation dawned and Alex's hands stopped winding the bandage as he sat in thought. "The knife did get to me. What, did I die?" The thought horrified him. "And you used the power of the triangle to go back and change my fate?" Lara was nodding slowly. He looked down at her hand, which he still held in his. Blood was already staining the bandage. He could only think of one word to say, "why?"  
  
"You may be a greedy, unscrupulous sellout, but you don't deserve to die. Especially not when Powell could die instead."  
  
Alex smiled to himself, he knew that wasn't a reason and he let himself hope that maybe the real reason was that she did have feelings for him, after all. He finished bandaging her hand but held onto it and took hold of the other one too. "Thank you," he murmured. It sounded lame, but it had to be said.  
  
Lara looked him in the eye. "Why don't you thank me properly, Alex?" she asked.  
  
He frowned, but then recognised the smile that was playing on her lips. He could feel his heart beating in his chest as he grinned back, then leaned in and brushed her lips gently with his own. "Is that what you mean?" he asked softly.  
  
"Not quite," Lara breathed, her full lips parting ever so slightly. Alex needed no further invitation and he kissed her again, deeply this time. He tasted blood from the cut on her lip, Powell had punched her, he guessed. The thought made him seethe with anger and only the thought that he would never be able to do it again calmed him down.  
  
He swallowed her blood - the taste of it was actually strangely arousing - as the kiss ended and Lara leaned back against the side of the sled again. She put a finger up to her mouth and inspected the fresh blood that came away on it.  
  
"Sorry, I made you bleed again," Alex said with a slight laugh. He wanted her so badly, and looking at her face he could see she felt the same. The freezing cold was a wonderful contraceptive, he thought to himself wryly. 


	3. An apology?

Alex looked at Lara now, in the glittering lights of the party at the British Museum. He saw that she was now sporting a deadly serious expression and he changed tack, "why have you been avoiding me for the last month?"  
  
She let out a short laugh and attempted to pull her arm away from his strong grip. "I may have saved your life Alex, but that doesn't mean I want to be friends with you. There's the small matter of those prayer wheels you stole from me, plus you were working for Powell." Lara almost spat the name, "and I see money is still more important to you than anything else," she sneered, glancing across the room at Alex's date, the empty-headed heiress to a textiles fortune.  
  
Alex shook his head slightly in annoyance. "Look, I thought we had gotten past all that. What's going on with us?"  
  
"There's an 'us'?"  
  
Alex chose to ignore that comment and carried on speaking. "I didn't know that Powell was with the Illuminati, even less that he killed your father. If I knew that I would have killed him myself Lara, I swear."  
  
She looked at him with eyes blazing, "well then I should thank you for leaving that pleasure for me." Lara looked down at Alex's hand on her arm, "I would advise you to remove you hand, if you wish to keep it," she said icily.  
  
He knew by now to take her threats seriously. As he let go Lara turned around and stormed off to the bar, but Alex was persistent and followed after her. "Lara! Please could you at least tell me what I've done wrong now, I mean since you forgave me for taking the prayer wheels, and for working for Powell."  
  
"You're still an arrogant, self-centred, greedy, sell-out!" she retorted over her shoulder.  
  
"Are you talking about that article?" he said, realization finally dawning.  
  
"Damned right I am," she spun around. "You had no right telling the Daily Mail all that personal information about me. Especially about my father." The last sentence was spoken more quietly.  
  
"Please Lara, let me explain."  
  
The note of desperation in his voice made Lara stop and turn to look at him. She wished he didn't look so damn sexy in that tuxedo because then this would be so much easier.  
  
"Ok. I'll give you one minute to explain yourself."  
  
"Thank you." He led her out onto a balcony so they could talk in privacy.  
  
"Go on then, the clocks ticking." She leant back against the wall, arms folded across her chest defensively.  
  
"I'm sorry I sold the story, but most of what they said was lies anyway, I hardly told them anything," he said with as much sincerity as he could muster.  
  
"I know it was lies, Alex." The edge to her voice made him hesitate, but he decided to carry on.  
  
"I know this sounds pathetic, but I didn't really have a choice," he sighed and looked down, embarrassed. "I was in so much debt, and then this guy comes along offering me fifty grand just for a few details about you to pad out the story exposing the Illuminati." He looked up, smiling weakly.  
  
Lara cringed. "Is that all? You betrayed me for fifty thousand pounds?" It was almost inconceivable. "So was it before or after you told me that you loved me that you agreed to do this?" she asked in a hurt voice.  
  
"Oh god, Lara," Alex ran a hand roughly through his hair. "If I could go back and change one thing..."  
  
"I would have lent you the fucking money, if you'd asked," she said angrily.  
  
"You know I couldn't have borrowed from you."  
  
Lara just clenched her fists, trying to suppress the urge to punch the guy.  
  
"I've apologised, what else can I do?"  
  
"Get out of my face."  
  
Alex shrugged that off and decided to give it one last shot. "I know you despise the fact that I view tomb raiding as a business, and that if someone offers me fifty grand for a ten minute interview I'd take it, but some people don't have the luxury of doing all this for fun," he gave Lara a pointed look.  
  
"What I really want to say is that what happened in Siberia, well, it...it changed me and you don't have to believe me but it's true. Watching a knife flying towards you and then suddenly being spared is quite an experience. I never properly thanked you for what you did for me, if I were you I would have let me die, God knows I deserved it. And, well, I think you're." he paused, not knowing quite what to say, "you're amazing Lara. So if you never want to speak to me again then fine, but I was hoping that maybe you'd give me the chance to show you how sorry I am and how much I appreciate what you did for me. And that I've changed," he finished.  
  
Alex took Lara's hand and lifted it to his mouth, placing a gentle kiss on the scar that ran across her palm where she gripped the knife and turned it around to save his life. "Let me buy you dinner tomorrow night, to try and show you that I mean it," he said, giving her a lop-sided smile.  
  
"So you just said all that to try and get a date with me?" she spluttered, pulling her hand away from his angrily.  
  
"Lara no! For Christ's sake I meant every word and if you can't see that." he exclaimed, unable to finish the sentence. "I don't know why I bothered, or why you bothered to save my life. You're just a heartless bitch!" he stormed off through the French windows back into the party, leaving Lara feeling like she'd just been smacked in the mouth.  
  
She suddenly felt a terrible sickness in her stomach and leant against the railings to steady herself. Maybe he had changed, maybe he really was sorry. Maybe she really was a heartless bitch. In the space of two days she had rudely rejected the proposal of a perfectly lovely man, offended Hillary and now stamped on Alex's attempt at an apology. What was wrong with her? Lara knew that she could be rather cold, but the events of her youth had made her feel pretty deadened emotionally. The only thing that made her feel alive was danger, the thrill of tomb raiding, coming back with the prize. For a while, Alex had made her feel alive but that was before he had betrayed her trust by stealing the very thing she was paying him to locate. She should never have given him the chance to betray her again. He was just insufferable, so arrogant. So handsome. And he did seem so sorry. "Bloody hell!" she said out loud. 


	4. Another date

A/N: I promise there will be an adventure eventually!  
  
Alex woke up the next morning with a splitting headache, and remembered the bottle of vodka he'd polished off the night before after his run in with Lara Croft. He rolled over and thumped his hand on the pillow. She made him so incredibly angry, but somehow always managed to turn him on at the same time, and she had looked so beautiful last night. Was it really so bad he told the papers a few innocent details about her, or was it just that she was a complete bitch? Alex couldn't be sure. Shaking his head he climbed out of bed, pulled on shorts, t-shirt and a pair of trainers. The only thing that would take his mind off her was a good long run.  
  
One hour later he returned, panting and dripping with sweat to find a delivery man knocking at his door. "You Mr..." the guy looked down at the form with a bored expression, "West?" he proffered the package. "Need a signature..." he continued, holding out the clipboard.  
  
Alex wasn't expecting a delivery and he eyed it suspiciously. "Yeah that's me," he replied, out of breath. He signed and took the package inside, placed it on a table and looked at it again. He shrugged and ripped it open. Inside was a photograph frame with a note stuck on the front, obscuring the picture.  
  
'Just so you know, I do have a heart. And I will take you up on the offer of dinner tonight. Meet you at 8, The Ivy. L"  
  
He pulled the post-it off the photo to reveal a snap of himself and Lara on the dig in Tibet the previous year. Their arms were wrapped around each other, happy smiles on both their faces.  
  
"Oh Lara," he said, gently rubbing her face in the picture.  
  
*  
  
The silver Aston Martin squealed to a halt outside the restaurant, the journey had taken almost an hour because of the driving rain and Lara was late. As she strode up to the entrance she recognised a funny feeling in her stomach and tried to ignore it. There was no reason to be nervous, this was ridiculous.  
  
Alex was nowhere to be seen. 'How dare he be late!' she thought to herself indignantly, but spun around as he coughed politely behind her, returning from the bar with a drink in each hand.  
  
"I heard the screech of brakes and assumed you had arrived!" he said, handing her a vodka and tonic with a slice of lime, just the way she liked it.  
  
"Alex," Lara said. "Thank you." She suddenly felt very conscious of her gesture that morning, sending him that photo, and looked away embarrassed.  
  
He smiled, amused at her obvious discomfort. "You're late," he said.  
  
"Only because I spent three hours getting ready," Lara retorted.  
  
"Ha!" Alex laughed, "I know you Lara. Besides, you always look beautiful without any effort."  
  
Lara blushed. "Come on, our table's ready," Alex said as took her hand and led her through to the dining room.  
  
They sat down at their table and smiled stupidly at each other for a good couple of minutes, neither sure quite what to say.  
  
"I'm sorry..." they both began together.  
  
"No Alex," Lara said "I'm the one who should be apologising. I was very rude to you last night, I guess I was just taken aback that you weren't either winding me up or trying to get me into bed," she continued. "I am sorry and...well I think I'm trying to say that I forgive you, and maybe I was wrong to hold it against you for so long. And I do take it for granted that I can afford to take jobs just for the fun of it, I know you have to earn a living."  
  
Alex leaned back and folded his arms across his chest, an amused expression on his face. "My God," he said, "Lara Croft eating humble pie. I wish I had that on tape!" he laughed.  
  
She looked cross. "If you're going to be like that..." she said, making to leave.  
  
"Lara please!" he exclaimed. "You can't keep running off like this. Come on, lighten up. I'm just teasing you," he looked at her and felt the same feeling inside that Lara had felt moments before. "Affectionately."  
  
Lara was unsure how to respond. She smiled, "ok," she said and laughed with him.  
  
Alex looked at her seriously again, "thank you for giving me another chance, I probably don't deserve it but I swear I would never cross you again," he said.  
  
"You'd better not," Lara responded, "because it certainly would be the last time then."  
  
*  
  
The waiter arrived to take their order and over dinner they reminisced about various adventures they'd had. Alex tried desperately to avoid looking at Lara's cleavage. Over dessert she told him about Lord Peter's proposal the other night and he laughed loudly. "I can't imagine you ending up with a guy like that!" he said at the end.  
  
"Well what sort of guy can you imagine me ending up with?" she asked, one brow raised in amusement, "or will I die sad and alone?"  
  
Alex smiled at her. "Well.he would have to be very handsome," he began "and fantastic in bed..."  
  
Lara kicked him under the table.  
  
"Ok, ok. He would have to enjoy living life on the edge as much as you do," he said more seriously. "He'd have to be a pretty amazing guy, to match up to you," he finished, looking down at his plate and fiddling with his spoon, wishing that he fulfilled that description.  
  
Lara reached across and placed her hand on his. "Alex, I..." she began, as if not quite sure what it was she meant to say.  
  
He looked up and met her eye. The electricity in the air was palpable, but suddenly the spell was broken as the waiter arrived to offer them coffee. Both of them looked slightly relieved and accepted much too enthusiastically, the waiter looking slightly bemused.  
  
Lara had suddenly remembered her car parked outside, and the two bottles of wine they had got through between them. "I think I've had a bit too much to drink to drive home tonight!" she said. "Um...I guess I should find a hotel."  
  
"Don't be ridiculous Lara!" Alex exclaimed, "you can come back to my apartment." She shot him a sharp look. "I'll sleep on the sofa!" he said, "and don't look at me like that, I did tell you I'd changed. I promise to behave." He tried to look as innocent as possible.  
  
She smiled at him, "thank you, that would be great." 


	5. Behaving

Alex placed his hand on the base of Lara's back as they left the restaurant. They began to walk along the street and when she began shivering slightly he placed his jacket around her shoulders. Strangely, Lara found herself enjoying a gesture she would normally have rejected sarcastically and said nothing as Alex hailed a passing taxi. Their conversation was slightly stilted on the drive trough central London, both of them unsure what to think about the obvious sexual tension that had passed between them. As the door of Alex's flat closed behind them, the two tomb raiders looked at each other.  
  
"Lara..."  
  
"Alex..."  
  
He reached out and placed his hand on the side of her face, looking into her eyes. "Why would it be so wrong?" he asked gently, stroking her hair.  
  
Lara opened her mouth to say something, but wasn't quite sure what her objection was. In her heart she knew the truth, that she was scared that if anything happened between them she wouldn't be able to go back, and she was terrified of getting hurt. And Lara Croft wasn't afraid of anything.  
  
Alex leant forward and brushed his lips against hers, and she really couldn't resist. Her full lips parted and suddenly they were kissing passionately, exploring each others' mouths with their tongues. Lara let out a soft moan and Alex needed no more encouragement. He pressed himself against her and wrapped his arms around her. The kiss ended and he groaned into her soft hair.  
  
Lara could feel his manhood pressing against her, and she wanted him as much as he obviously wanted her. She began to unbutton his shirt, running her fingers through his hair as their mouths joined again.  
  
"Oh God, Lara" Alex murmured, pulling her through the debris of books, clothes, empty lager cans and some possibly important artifacts towards the large four poster.  
  
Ripping off each others' clothes they fell together onto the bed but Alex paused, brushing a strand of hair away from her face. "We don't have to do this, if you don't want..."  
  
"Don't tell me what I want Alex!" Lara looked angry. "Don't you want me?" she asked, her expression changing from anger to concern.  
  
"Come on, look at me!" he replied, gesturing down at his obvious arousal. Lara laughed. "It's just, well, we've both had a bit to drink and I really don't want you to regret this," he continued, "I'm serious Lara, really. If we do this, I want it to be special. Besides, I did promise to behave."  
  
Lara looked at him and saw his obvious sincerity. She smiled, "you're right Alex, I just never would have expected you to say something like that!" She kissed him gently then reached over to grab the shirt he had been wearing, pulling it on. "You don't need to sleep on the couch though," she said, pulling the covers over them and cuddling up to his warm body.  
  
*  
  
Alex was snoring softly beside her but Lara couldn't sleep. Her thoughts kept turning back to the day she couldn't forget and the events that had taken place in the Tomb of Ten Thousand Shadows. Although that wasn't strictly true. While thoughts of the action inside the tomb had kept her awake many a night, what was keeping her awake now was more to do with what had happened afterwards.  
  
Everyone on the sled had sat in silence for the past thirty minutes, worrying about how they were going to get back to civilization, but none of them voicing their fears. Even if one of the amphibious vehicles had been left for them, the engines didn't work in the dead zone and there was no other way they could get back across the area where the ice was melted. They were approaching this point now and a sense of gloom had settled over the group.  
  
Lara was the first to hear the thudding engine noise in the distance, and when the others heard it too their spirits lifted. Although he was trying to hide it, she noticed that Bryce was grinning and she stood up and went to join him at the reins. "What did you get up to while I was in that tomb?" she asked with barely concealed amusement.  
  
"Oh, I got a message out to a certain ex-marine," he replied, trying mostly unsuccessfully to sound casual.  
  
She looked at him with new respect, "in the dead zone? I am impressed. Perhaps it's time I gave you a pay rise." Bryce glowed with pride as he reined the dogs, bringing the sled to a standstill.  
  
"Well," he said modestly, "it wasn't without help from Pimms here," he gestured at the other man in the sled, "and his impressive knowledge of Morse code."  
  
"Oh, well, certainly I..." Pimms mumbled. Lara gave him a warm smile.  
  
Soon, a large helicopter was descending onto the ice beside them and the cargo ramp was opening like a gaping mouth at the back of the machine before the blades had stopped turning. A bulky looking man in camouflage gear and a buzz cut jogged across to her and Lara ran into his strong arms.  
  
"Shugrave!" she exclaimed as he hugged her tightly, "am I glad to see you."  
  
"You owe me one for this, Croft," he muttered as they broke apart and Lara had to agree with him.  
  
Soon they were all strapped into the Kevlar seats of the Apache and flying at speed across a vista of white that seemed to be never ending. Lara glanced across at Alex, but he was leaning back with his arms crossed across his chest and his eyes closed. She frowned, why was he in a mood now? She thought they were having fun. She glanced towards the cockpit and her friend at the controls and laughed out loud. Alex was jealous.  
  
He had opened his eyes when she laughed and looked at her quizzically, then started looking out of the window as if there was something to see out there. Which there wasn't.  
  
Grinning to herself, Lara called out to one of the men at the front of the chopper. "Is there a, uh, water closet on this thing?"  
  
The young man looked confused for a second before realising what she was on about. "Yeah, down there," he said bluntly, indicating a ladder descending into the bowels of the craft.  
  
Lara thanked him as she unbuckled herself. Before she stood up she glanced at Alex, who was now watching her with a bored expression. She winked at him briefly before heading in the direction she had been shown.  
  
At this point Lara finally drifted off to sleep. 


	6. Dreaming?

As they lay asleep a dark figure slid silently into view at the window, suspended from a thin metal rope. The curtains had not been drawn, indeed there weren't any curtains, and the figure looked in and saw the two sleeping forms. Slowly and carefully he drew a tool out of his backpack and placed it up against the glass.  
  
*  
  
While Lara was lying awake Alex had been having his favourite recurring dream.  
  
Lara had just winked at him before heading down into the depths of a helicopter.  
  
He sat for a moment, staring at the point where she had disappeared then grinned and pressed the release button on his cross-over safety belt. Everyone looked at him when he stood up and steadied himself on the edge of an overhead storage compartment. Alex thought about being embarrassed, but at this point he really didn't care what anyone thought so he made his way down the helicopter and descended the ladder that Lara had just used.  
  
Bryce and Pimms exchanged knowing glances.  
  
Alex could see very little in the dim light of the belly of the Apache chopper, but before he could search around for the light switch a hand was grabbing him by the belt and tugging. He let himself be pulled forward and through a doorway, then the door clicked shut behind him and a light came on.  
  
Lara had taken him into what she had endearingly referred to as the water closet. It did indeed resemble a closet, and far too much for his liking.  
  
"This is, uh, cosy," he quipped as he was pushed back against the door, but his complaints were silenced as Lara's lips met his, kissing him softly. He ran his tongue slowly over her lips until they parted to let him in, then he pulled her body right up against his as they kissed hungrily.  
  
"I'm so glad you're alive," he said when they eventually parted.  
  
Lara smiled at him, "ditto."  
  
Alex ran his arms around her waist tightly, then picked her up and sat her on the small corner sink. He looked at her with satisfaction, she was breathing heavily, nostrils flared and lips parted slightly with desire. When he moved closer she parted her legs so he was standing between them, then she wrapped them around him so he wasn't going anywhere.  
  
The feeling of her thighs squeezing him tightly was too much for Alex to take and he suddenly slipped a hand behind her head and used it to direct her mouth onto his. He kept his eyes open while they kissed passionately and when Lara opened hers he looked directly into them and bit her lip, hard enough to make her pull away in surprise. It was also hard enough to bring that fire into her eyes that turned him on so much, plus he knew that pain was a serious aphrodisiac for Lara.  
  
Alex was just getting to the best bit of the dream when a crashing noise caused his eyes to pop open. He quickly scanned the darkened room but not much could be seen. Instinctively he reached under his pillow and pulled out his gun and saw that Lara had done the same. They exchanged glances in the dark, then he flicked on the lights and she quickly surveyed the room. No one there. Alex crept to the bathroom door and flung it open, but that was empty too. When he turned back Lara had the window open and was examining the metal cord that hung outside it. She pulled part of it in to show Alex.  
  
"I take it this isn't your getaway route?" she asked with a raised eyebrow. He walked up to where she stood and craned his neck out of the window, looking first up then down at the street.  
  
"Well, whoever it was they're long gone now," he said with a yawn. "I'm going back to bed."  
  
"Alex!" Lara exclaimed, "this isn't the sort of equipment used by your standard burglar."  
  
He shrugged and climbed under the covers. "I know what they're after," he explained, "they searched my flat the other day but didn't find it." Lara was looking at him in confusion. "I'll show you tomorrow. Right now I'm going back to this wonderful dream." 


	7. The Truth

As the sun came through the blinds Alex awoke slowly and reached his arm across the bed to the sleeping form which...wasn't beside him. His eyes sprung open and disappointment was written across his face as he surveyed the empty space. Not even a note.  
  
With a sigh he swung his legs off the bed and padded barefoot across to the bathroom. As he pushed the door he jumped at the sounds coming from within. He entered and saw Lara kneeling on the floor and retching into the toilet bowl. Strangely he didn't find it disgusting, he just felt sorry for her as well as being slightly amused at seeing her like this - unwell, vulnerable.  
  
"Too much wine?" he asked jokingly, startling her into looking round.  
  
Lara nodded, pushing thoughts of what else might be causing her sickness to the back of her mind. She stood up, flushed away the ex-contents of her stomach and smiled sardonically. Alex was disappointed, just for one moment she had no longer looked like the kick-ass, gun-toting adventurer he knew, but just beautiful and vulnerable. He felt a wave of affection for her rising in his chest. He went over to her and brushed strands of hair away from her face, then kissed her gently on the forehead.  
  
"Sorry," she said.  
  
"Don't be. Do you feel better now?"  
  
Lara nodded.  
  
"You look very sexy in my shirt," he commented.  
  
"Thank you," she replied. "And you look very sexy in...well in nothing," she finished, looking down at him with a smug expression on her face. Alex laughed, aware for the first time that he was completely naked. He didn't make any attempt to cover himself.  
  
They looked at each other for a while, not quite sure what was going to happen. "This is new ground for me, but if something is happening here then maybe we should wait until...well until we're sure," he said.  
  
Lara nodded, understanding what he meant. "Is it ok if I grab a shower?" she asked.  
  
"I think I need a shower too. A cold one," Alex muttered under his breath as he clicked the door shut behind him. He lay back on the bed and picked up a novel, but he kept thinking about Lara, about kissing her and about her in the shower just on the other side of the door. The more he tried not to imagine her in there, water running over her naked body the more unsuccessful he was.  
  
He growled to himself and got out of bed, heading for the bathroom. Gingerly opening the door Alex called out, "Lara, honey, I'm just gonna brush my teeth," he wrapped a towel around his waist and tried hard to avert his eyes from the frosted shower screen as he brushed his teeth, but he couldn't help but stare at the outline of her body.  
  
Lara poked her head round the side of the screen, a stern expression on her face.  
  
Alex put his hands up in mock surrender, "I know, I know what we said but I'm only human! I can't change that much overnight anyway," he walked over to her and leaned in to kiss her but bit her bottom lip between his teeth so she couldn't pull away. He then snaked an arm around her waist and pulled her wet body up against his, slipping his tongue into her mouth and kissing her passionately. "This is ok, isn't it?" he asked, still holding her tightly.  
  
"Huh...er...I guess it's ok," she replied, slightly breathless from the force of the kiss.  
  
Alex smiled down at her, "so...would it also be ok if I joined you in there?" he gestured to the shower and dropped the towel from around his waist.  
  
Lara smiled back and pulled him into the shower. Switching the water onto cold she stood to the side and laughed as Alex screamed and flicked the freezing water onto her. "Hey! You're the one that needs the cold shower!" she exclaimed as he pulled her under with him.  
  
Suddenly they were kissing passionately, hands roaming over each other's bodies. "Lara..." Alex murmured between kisses. "There's something you should know".  
  
"What?" she asked, looking into his eyes.  
  
"Well, I..." he wasn't sure he could say it.  
  
"What?" Lara laughed, "it can't be that bad."  
  
"Oh, it might be," he replied with a rueful smile. "Come with me." He wrapped her in a fluffy towel and grabbed one for himself, pulled her through to the bedroom and sat her down on the end of his bed. Alex knelt down in front of her and held her hands in his.  
  
"Lara, whatever you might have been thinking for the past few weeks, I wasn't lying before, when I told you I loved you," he said, "I've loved you pretty much since the moment I first met you, I've tried to deny it but..." He looked into her eyes searchingly, "it's ok, I know you don't feel the same, I just thought I should say it, so you know this isn't just some fling for me this time."  
  
The last time he'd told her that he loved her had been about a week after they had returned from Siberia. They had met up for dinner and she had been wearing a dress, a white one and her long hair had been flowing loose down her back. She had looked so beautiful and the words had just slipped out. She hadn't said it back, but then he hadn't really been expecting her to.  
  
This time, sitting on Alex's bed, Lara was so touched by the way he'd just put his heart on the line and she believed he actually meant it. He looked so adorable; the sincere expression on his face was unfamiliar to her. Suddenly she realised what Manfred Powell must have seen straight away and exploited - that she did feel the same way about him. "I love you too Alex," she said quietly. 


	8. A hasty retreat

A/N: Thanx for the great reviews, sorry to say this but the path of true love never did run smooth...  
  
*  
  
At this very moment a man dressed entirely in black was getting a severe ear bashing.  
  
"What do you mean you didn't get it again?" an older man was shouting at him. "How hard can it be, complete imbeciles manage to burgle houses every day and yet you, a supposed professional, can't even remove one tiny item from one bumbling archaeologist."  
  
"Well I'd hardly call him that sir, he had a gun and everything. And that Croft woman was there, y'know, from the papers." The cockney accent was slightly incongruous with the man's dangerous appearance.  
  
"I know who you mean, Travers. If she's in on this too we could be in real trouble. Follow them both, and get that damned medallion!"  
  
Travers bowed as the grey haired man picked up a cane with an ornate silver handle and left the room.  
  
*  
  
Alex let out the breath he suddenly realised he'd been holding. He kissed Lara tenderly as they stood up together and she slid her hands down his well formed chest, pausing when she reached the towel around his waist. Then she pulled it away and pressed herself up against him, feeling his erection pushing against her. "I want you so badly," he said between kisses and tugged at Lara's towel. She felt a tingling all over her skin as their naked bodies pressed together. Alex picked her up and laid her gently on the bed, then proceeded to plant kisses all over her stomach, working his way up to pause at her right breast, catching the nipple between his lips. She groaned as he flicked it with his tongue, then bit gently causing her to moan louder. "Are you sure about this Lara?" he asked, looking up at her and seeing nothing but passion and desire in her eyes.  
  
In response she suddenly spun him onto his back, positioning herself above him.  
  
"Hang on baby, slow down!" he said, and rolled her back over. She growled at him as he held her down and gently slipped a finger between her legs, caressing her intimately. When he was convinced she was staying put Alex let go with his other hand and moved down her body. He then carefully slipped his tongue into her opening and swirled it inside her, enjoying the taste of her. Lara was breathing fast and Alex glanced up to see she was gripping the bedposts behind her tightly. Replacing his tongue with two fingers he began to gently kiss her clit, then as she cried out with pleasure he began to flick it with his tongue and then bite her very gently.  
  
"Oh my god! Alex!" she exclaimed, having to pull his head away by his hair as the pleasure was just too much to bear. Besides, it didn't seem fair for her to have all the fun, although Alex seemed intent on pleasing her. She reached down and stroked his member. Understanding what she meant he grinned and positioned himself above her, supporting all his weight with his forearms, rubbing his rigid shaft against her clitoris. Lara tried to take him inside her but again he said, "hang on," this time reaching out to the drawer by the bed, fishing around inside and coming out with a condom. Lara took it off him and powerfully pushed him over onto his back.  
  
She looked at the small packet in her hand and suddenly felt a terrible sinking feeling in her stomach. They hadn't used one had they? That time in the helicopter. She could no longer ignore the unsettled feeling she'd had at the back of her mind for the last couple of weeks, the fact that she kept being sick in the mornings, the fact that although she wasn't normally regular it had been two months now... She looked at the digital display of the clock by the bed, she just had time to make the appointment Hillary had insisted on setting up for her.  
  
"What's the matter Lara?" Alex was looking concerned, lying back with his hands behind his head.  
  
"I have to go Alex, I'm sorry I have to be somewhere," she said quickly, climbing off him and fumbling around for her clothes.  
  
"Are you joking? 'Cos this really isn't funny," he asked with a frustrated scowl, sitting up and pulling a sheet around himself.  
  
"I'm not joking, it's important, ok?"  
  
"No, it's not ok Lara. What's going on here? The truth, please." Alex got out of bed now and grabbed her by the arm as she finished gathering her things together.  
  
"Nothing, I just have to leave. Get off me," she said in a raised voice, trying to pull away from him.  
  
He looked at her but she refused to meet his eye, so he grabbed her other arm and shook her roughly, unable to contain his anger at the way she was acting. "You can't go without telling me what's going on!" he shouted.  
  
"Don't you dare tell me what I can and can't do!" she shouted back, using all her strength to break free of his grasp. She walked purposely towards the door and Alex ran after her. He grabbed hold of her again and this time he was really hurting her. Lara spun around and her right hook connected with his face.  
  
Alex staggered back, she'd actually punched him, and extremely hard. He was speechless and all he could do was put a hand up to the throbbing pain in his eye as the door slammed shut behind her. 


	9. You again?

After visiting her doctor, Lara spent the afternoon trying to beat her time on the assault course and trying equally hard not to think about anything except pushing herself to the limit. As she swung across the monkey bars she heard footsteps on the gravel below and let go, dropping ten feet to the ground and landing in a crouch but falling forward onto hands. That was further than she had thought!  
  
"Lara, are you ok?" a man came running up. Lara looked up and it wasn't the person she had been both dreading and hoping to see.  
  
"Here, let me help you up," Peter Farringdon was holding out a hand for her.  
  
Lara ignored it and got to her feet, brushing gravel from her palms and eyed him suspiciously. "What do you want?" she asked, wiping sweat from her brow and breathing heavily.  
  
"I want to apologise for scaring you the other night, I know I was taking it too fast and it's ok, we can just go back to the way things were".  
  
Lara held back a laugh. "I don't think so Peter," she said coldly.  
  
"Come on Lara" he said, stepping towards her, "don't be silly". He took hold of her by the shoulder.  
  
"Let go of me," she said dangerously. What was it with men thinking they could manhandle her like that?  
  
"No!" he said holding on, "you can't blow me off like that, you probably won't get a better offer than me, you shouldn't have rejected me like that. No-one else would put up with this...gallivanting around," he gestured to the assault course, "you should be thankful I'm giving you another chance."  
  
Lara struggled against his grip and was just about to explode at him when a familiar metallic clicking noise behind them stopped her.  
  
"Let go of her right now," Alex said in a cold voice, pressing the barrel of the gun into Peter's back.  
  
"Don't be stupid Alex, put that away!" Lara shouted, "I can fight my own battles so just stay out of it!" Pulling her arm free she slapped Peter hard across the face. He put his hand up to his cheek in shock and turned to look at Alex, who had put the gun back into the holster under his jacket.  
  
"Who the hell are you?" he asked. He turned back to look at Lara who was obviously fuming. "So what, you're with this jerk now? You think scum like that is good enough for you?"  
  
Alex couldn't control himself on hearing this and landed a punch squarely on the other man's jaw. Peter was knocked down, and he lay with his hand over his mouth, blood dripping onto the gravel.  
  
"Alex!" Lara shouted at him in anger then turned to help Peter up. "I think you'd better leave," she told him. He took her advice, shooting Alex a dirty look as he stalked off.  
  
Lara pushed past Alex and went in the kitchen door. She poured herself a glass of water and turned around to see him leaning against the worktop, a guilty look on his face.  
  
"I'm sorry," he said massaging his knuckles, "but that guy was asking for it".  
  
"I know," Lara said, "but I did tell you stay out of it."  
  
"How could I, when he started insulting me like that! Besides you're hardly one to lecture me about resorting to violence," Alex retorted, touching the tender swelling around his left eye.  
  
Lara sighed, she did feel guilty about punching him that morning, although she couldn't help feeling some degree of satisfaction at her good aim. He was going to have one hell of a black eye. "And why are you carrying a gun anyway?" she asked suspiciously.  
  
Alex's expression changed. "Because of this," he replied, pulling something wrapped in cloth from his pocket. He handed it to Lara, who began to unwrap it with interest. "This is what that intruder last night was looking for. I found it on a dig in France. I've no idea what it is but someone certainly seems to want to get it. I was just gonna sell it, but seeing as someone wants it so badly I figured I'd try and work out what it was. Although I'm probably risking my life coming here..." he gave her a pointed look, "I thought you might have an idea."  
  
Lara looked closely at the flat piece of metal in her hand. It looked like it might have once been a pendant of sort, but it was very worn and rusty. One side had a motif of a circle of some sort of plant, and the other side had a lopsided cross, the ends of the lines being marked with large dots. "To be honest, I haven't the faintest idea," Lara said, "but I know someone who might be able to help us," she looked at her watch and saw that it was after five. "We can go and see him tomorrow, and until then would you like me to put it in the safe?"  
  
Alex shrugged, "sure. I made certain I wasn't followed here but you may as well."  
  
Lara left the room, shouting for the butler. When she returned she gently pushed Alex into a seat and went to get an ice pack for his bruised knuckles. He flinched as she pressed it against his hand, but he was pleased to note that she had an identical injury on her own hand.  
  
"That's not the only reason I came here," he said cautiously.  
  
Lara nodded, "I do owe you an explanation," she began.  
  
"Just an explanation?" Alex asked, although he thought he might be pushing his luck with that one. He was right, an apology was not forthcoming.  
  
"Do you want it or not?" she said crossly. He didn't think that one needed answering. Lara took a deep breath. "This morning, when we were..." Alex nodded. "It reminded me of what happened in the helicopter." Alex was smiling now, thinking about it. Lara despaired of him, she was trying to be serious. "It reminded me that we didn't..." she sighed. This would be so much easier if he could guess what she was getting at. He didn't.  
  
"It reminded me that we didn't use contraception," she finally said hurriedly. Alex's mouth formed an 'oh'. "I had to find out, right then. That's why I rushed off."  
  
He nodded with understanding. He had been beginning to think that it had all been some cruel punishment for betraying her. He was relieved, at least, that it wasn't that. Lara was looking down at her hands, examining the bruises on her knuckles. He remembered how she had been ill that morning.  
  
"You're pregnant?" It was actually more of a statement than a question. Lara nodded slightly, still looking down. He was silent for a long minute, so many questions forming in his mind that he couldn't decide which to ask first.  
  
Lara took his silence to mean he was unhappy with the news. "I should have not told you and just..." she began, finally looking up to meet his eye.  
  
Alex looked back at her with a hurt expression on his face. "Is that what you're going to do? Get rid of it?" he asked incredulously.  
  
"I don't know," Lara shrugged.  
  
For some reason the thought made him feel sick to the stomach. She didn't seem to care, how could she be like that? He stood up and turned away from her. "Fine, do whatever you want," he said forcefully and strode out, slamming the door behind him. 


	10. Don't do it

Lara marched straight into her study and sat down, propping her feet up on the desk. Hillary entered a few steps behind her and stood to one side expectantly.  
  
"Give me a job Hilly," she said.  
  
"Is that wise Lara, in your."  
  
"Don't say 'in your condition,'" she snapped, "it's irrelevant anyway." She had confided in him earlier that day.  
  
"So you've made up your mind?" he asked tentatively, as Lara seemed to be in a foul mood.  
  
"I saw Alex."  
  
"Ah."  
  
"He said he didn't care what I did."  
  
The butler sighed and pulled up a chair to sit across from Lara. "Don't you ever think about having a family?" he asked gently.  
  
Lara looked at him with an angry expression. "No," she said frankly. "It would hardly fit in with my lifestyle would it?"  
  
"You've got me, and Pimms now too. You could get a nanny..." the butler began, but Lara was shaking her head. "You're father managed it," he said quietly, knowing this was about the only thing that might change her mind.  
  
She looked up and saw the portrait of her father looking kindly down at her from the opposite wall. He only managed it for seven years, she thought, but at least he had someone to carry on his work when he was gone.  
  
"Ok, well I apologise for prying," Hillary said, standing up and replacing the chair against the wall. He paused on the way out, "I just hope this is what you really want," he commented, "and that you're not just doing it to spite Mr West."  
  
*  
  
The next morning Lara decided to go and speak to the curator of the British Museum about the mysterious scroll before her appointment at a private hospital in the West End. She found the man she was after in the foyer talking to a police officer and clearly distressed. He looked up as Lara walked in.  
  
"Lady Croft," he addressed her in a flustered voice.  
  
"Is there some sort of trouble Mr. Watson?" she asked, head cocked to one side and eyebrows raised.  
  
"Unfortunately yes. We've had a break-in."  
  
Lara's heart sunk. "Let me guess," she said, "an ancient Arabic manuscript has been taken."  
  
Watson and the police officer both looked at her sharply.  
  
Lara remained cool. "It's an interesting piece. I was here for the Archaeological Association reception on Saturday and I noticed a pair of men examining it very closely. They seemed particularly interested in it, shall we say."  
  
"Could you give me a description madam?" the officer asked.  
  
"Certainly."  
  
*  
  
Alex pulled up outside Croft Manor at around 11 am, having rehearsed everything he wanted to say on the way there. He had been meaning to come earlier, but after tossing and turning until 4am he had only just woken up. He slammed the door of his beaten up Ford Escort and rang the bell.  
  
"Can I help you sir?" Pimms asked, every ounce the butler of a stately home.  
  
"Is Lara here?"  
  
"No sir, she is not currently receiving guests."  
  
"I don't care what's she's receiving, is she here or not?"  
  
"No she's gone out," Pimms said, disappointed that the new phrases he had been practicing were not taken too well.  
  
"Where is she?"  
  
"I don't know." At this point Hillary appeared at the door and Alex turned to him in relief.  
  
"Where's Lara?" he asked.  
  
"I'm not at liberty to divulge that information, Mr West," he stated. Alex saw Pimms visibly curse himself for not having thought of that one.  
  
"She's not gone to..." he stopped, not sure what Lara would have told her employees.  
  
Hillary felt sorry for the desperate looking man standing on the doorstep and relented. He nodded, "you'd better come in," he said.  
  
Alex looked distraught, "no, there's no time," he said, "please just tell me where she is, I have to try and stop her."  
  
The butler was surprised, "I thought you wanted this too?" Alex just looked at him. "Ok, come on I'll show you the way," he said, then gestured at the clapped out vehicle on the drive, "but we'll never make it in time in that thing."  
  
*  
  
Alex pulled the car up on a double yellow line outside the hospital and dashed up to the desk in the entrance area. "Could you tell me where to find Lara Croft, she's a patient here?" he asked the receptionist slightly breathlessly.  
  
"I can't give out that information," she replied, looking sharply at the man standing in front of her with a painful looking black eye.  
  
"Please, you gotta tell me where she is," he said, raising his voice without meaning to.  
  
"I'm right here Alex."  
  
The voice caused him to look around and he saw Lara sitting in the waiting area. He sighed in relief and went over to perch on the edge of the table opposite, from which she obligingly moved her legs to make room for him.  
  
"Why are you here?" Lara asked.  
  
Alex took a deep breath. "To tell you that I don't want you to have an abortion," he stated.  
  
"But you said..."  
  
"No, I didn't. I just told you to do what you liked because I was upset that you were talking about getting rid of it."  
  
Lara thought for a second. "I don't want to play happy families with you Alex," she said coldly.  
  
"I'm not asking you to do that," he looked into her eyes urgently, "but this is my child too, you should at least know how I really feel about it."  
  
"And how is that?"  
  
"I want it," he said imploringly, "I want you to have our child." This didn't seem to be working. "Is it really your decision to make Lara, to take away a life?"  
  
She wasn't expecting him to start being philosophical. "It's not like I've never taken a life before," she said this quietly, it wasn't really something she wanted to broadcast.  
  
"When you had to," Alex said, "this is different."  
  
Lara looked at him in silence for a minute that seemed to go on forever, until a nurse called out her name. She stood up, then looked back at the desperate expression on Alex's face.  
  
"You really want to have a baby?" she asked, "you really want to be a father?"  
  
He was nodding seriously, "I really do."  
  
Lara looked up at the nurse, "I'm not doing it," she said. 


	11. Speed

They walked out into the street together, and Lara immediately recognised the red sports car, and the man arguing with a traffic warden by the front windscreen.  
  
"Hillary!" she roared. "The number of times I've warned Bryce about the consequences of driving my cars..I never would have expected it of you."  
  
"Actually, I didn't drive it," the butler said, throwing his hands up in exasperation as the traffic warden took the opportunity to shove a parking ticket under a wiper blade. Alex was already stepping away from Lara, fearful of her wrath, when she turned to face him. Thankfully she just smiled and held out her hand for the keys, with her other hand on her hip.  
  
Alex pulled the keys out of his pocket, but instead of handing them over he dangled them from one finger teasingly. "But how did you get here?" he asked.  
  
"In the Porsche," Lara replied, not quite understanding what he was getting at.  
  
Alex grinned. "So if I give you the keys to the Ferrari, how is the Porsche going to get home?"  
  
She glared at him for a second, he had a point, then her arm shot out and she snatched the keys away. She turned to Hillary and threw them to him, "drive carefully now," she said as the butler smirked in delight.  
  
Lara reached out and pulled the plastic package from under the windscreen wiper. She shoved it at Alex's chest, "and you can pay this," she told him before turning on her heel and marching towards the real car park around the corner.  
  
*  
  
Alex ran after her and caught up as she reached the drivers side of the shiny black 911. "It doesn't always have to be like this you know Lara. We could just have a normal relationship, dinner dates, making out in the back row of the cinema, that kind of stuff."  
  
Lara laughed and pressed a button on the key ring she had extracted from her pocket, causing the headlights to flash on the car as the locks clicked open. "Hmm, with a baby screaming in the background," she said, arching an eyebrow at him across the roof of the low-slung car.  
  
Alex just smiled as he walked around the bonnet to stand in front of her. "Sounds perfect," he said softly and leant in to kiss her gently on the lips. Lara responded to the kiss and didn't object to being pushed back against the cold metal of the Porsche.  
  
They finally broke apart. "Get in you idiot," she said, reaching behind her for the door handle.  
  
*  
  
After about half an hour Alex looked up from the owner's manual he had been studying and surveyed the road they were driving along. "Just out of curiosity, where exactly are you taking me?" he asked, realising that they were heading west along the M40 away from London, rather than back to his flat or south to Croft Manor in Surrey.  
  
"Oxford." Lara answered, dropping into fourth gear to undertake a BMW pottering along at about a hundred in the outside lane.  
  
"Ok," Alex said, nervously gripping the dashboard as they narrowly avoided colliding into the back of a lorry, "any particular reason? And why are we driving like this?"  
  
"We're driving like this because we're being followed, which you might have noticed if you weren't so engrossed in the engine specifications and fuel consumption chart." He blushed and shoved the book back into the tiny glove compartment. "Probably the press again, thanks to your stunt last month," she continued and Alex sighed in frustration. "And we're going to Oxford to find out what this is." Lara took both hands off the wheel to search the numerous pockets of her combat trousers, eventually finding the small cloth bundle and handing it over.  
  
Alex breathed in relief when her hands were back on the wheel and he unwrapped the metal disc. "I was hoping you weren't just going to keep this," he said while looking over his shoulder to try and establish if they were still being followed. The motorway had just narrowed to a two lane A road and there were no other cars around now. Except...  
  
"Shit, cops!" he exclaimed at the sight of the familiar checkerboard pattern and Lara instinctively braked hard to a much more legal seventy miles per hour.  
  
"Yeah, that wasn't obvious," he said sarcastically as the police car came up quite close behind them.  
  
Lara checked the rear view mirror and sighed. "Has the driver got spiky blond hair Alex?"  
  
"Yeah, you know him?"  
  
Lara nodded. "He keeps trying to catch me out," she said, annoyed. "He'll probably follow us for ages now."  
  
"Maybe he just fancies you," Alex smirked.  
  
"Quite likely," she said mildly. "A few months ago he caught me speeding, but said he would overlook it if I agreed to go on a date with him."  
  
Alex laughed. "I hope you complained. How does he still have a job?"  
  
Lara looked across at him in amusement. "I went on the date," she answered with a smile.  
  
"What?" Alex was fuming. "But that's...that's..." he wasn't quite sure what it was.  
  
Lara raised a brow at him. "Bribery?" she asked. "I was doing 130, they would have taken my licence away."  
  
Alex looked over his shoulder at the police officer and the fact that he was very good looking made him even more angry. "You didn't fuck him did you?" he asked.  
  
Lara shook her head. "Christ, what do you take me for?" she asked.  
  
Alex slouched back in his seat, arms crossed. "So now we have to go slow all the way there 'cos some jerk wants another date with you?" he asked in a fractious tone.  
  
"Oh stop sulking, you've no need to be jealous," she said, causing him to sulk even more.  
  
Lara sighed, then dipped her foot down on the accelerator ever so slightly. Sure enough, the lights on the police car began flashing. Alex shook his head silently as she turned into a gravel lay-by at the side of the road. "Don't say a word," she warned her passenger and rolled down the window.  
  
"Is there a problem, officer?" she asked politely as a pale haired man in uniform strolled up to them.  
  
"Do you realise what the speed limit is on this road, Lady Croft?" he asked, getting out a notebook and licking the tip of a pencil.  
  
"A hundred and thirty maybe?" Lara suggested dryly, tapping her hands on the wheel as if bored with the conversation already.  
  
The man leant down to the level of the car window. "It's seventy," he stated flatly. "And we just clocked you as doing eighty five." A smile played at the corner of his lips.  
  
"No you didn't," Lara said, looking at him for the first time with a cold expression which said beyond a shadow of a doubt that she was not in the mood for playing games.  
  
The man suddenly looked annoyed. "Are you disagreeing with a police officer?" he asked warningly.  
  
"Yes," she replied, "is that a new crime?" She smiled sweetly.  
  
His lip curled. "Perhaps I should file a report about an incident of speeding on February fifth this year," he said nastily.  
  
Lara noticed that Alex was clenching his fists. "And perhaps I should explain to your superior officer why you didn't file that report at the time," she countered coolly.  
  
The policeman thought for a second then stood up. "I'll let you off with a warning this time," he said, then walked back to his car.  
  
Lara smiled across at Alex and quickly shifted the gear stick into first. She slammed her foot down on the accelerator, causing gravel to fly up behind, spraying the officer who kicked the wheel of his own vehicle in anger. Alex laughed aloud as they rounded a corner at ninety before he was even behind the wheel.  
  
"Shame. He was a good kisser." 


	12. Oxford

A short time later they were cruising along a wide street, passing sprawling sandstone colleges, then a row of shops topped by brightly painted houses leaning towards the road, then another grandiose structure. Being July, the city was filled with tourists and groups kept stepping out in front of the sports car, only to be beeped impatiently aside. They had made slow progress, but eventually the Porsche pulled onto the pavement and stopped outside a pair of high wooden gates.  
  
"Be a sweetie and go and get the porters to open the gates," Lara said as she pulled on the handbrake.  
  
"Er...where do I go?" Alex asked, looking around.  
  
Lara laughed and pointed at an archway under the imposing bell tower they had just passed. He raised his eyebrows at her briefly before getting out - it looked rather phallic to him. Through the arch he could see a large quadrangle with precision-trimmed grass and a fountain in the centre, but instead of going through he turned to speak to the elderly man in tails and a bowler hat by the entrance. His appearance reminded Alex of what he had thought Lara's butler would look like, before he met Hillary that is.  
  
He managed to secure the opening of the gates and once the car was parked up they walked together into Christ Church College. Lara led the way through gardens and cloisters until they reached a heavy looking wooden door, which opened onto a stone staircase. Three flights up and they were by another door, with a hastily scrawled label reading 'Dr John Bailey'. Lara knocked loudly.  
  
"Come," the voice from within commanded.  
  
They entered a large room lined with bookshelves, any free wall space being filled with dark and dingy looking pictures of ancient masters. The mahogany desk as well as the floor was strew with papers and what looked like exam scripts. An elderly man got up from a grand but tatty looking high backed arm chair to kiss Lara on the cheek. "How lovely to see you Lara," he said, then shook hands with Alex as she introduced them.  
  
"Dr Bailey was an undergraduate here with my father before the war," she explained, "and he has been kind enough to offer me...unofficial tutorials in a few subjects over the years."  
  
"And she has probably covered most of the Archaeology and Anthropology syllabus by now," the older man said with a paternal smile at Lara. He had a slightly dishevelled appearance and grey hair that certainly hadn't seen a comb that day, or possibly even that week. "If only all my students were as keen."  
  
Lara took a seat on an overstuffed sofa and gestured to Alex to join her. "But I haven't seen you in months," the tutor continued as he took a seat himself, "tell me all your news."  
  
"Oh there's not much to tell," Lara lied.  
  
"Modest as always. I read about your involvement with the Illuminati, now don't tell me there wasn't more to that than meets the eye," said Dr Bailey.  
  
Lara laughed and proceeded to give an edited explanation of the triangle of light to a fascinated audience. Eventually she was able to get onto the subject of the artefact which was the real reason for her visit. Alex handed over the medallion for the old professor to look at.  
  
Dr Bailey fumbled through some piles of papers, then after finally unearthing a magnifying glass he examined the object. "Pewter..incredibly ancient, around two thousand years old I'd say, maybe a bit less. What is it?"  
  
"That's what we hoped you could tell us," said Lara, "someone is rather keen to get their hands on it."  
  
"I'm afraid I don't know what it is, but the engraving is indicative of the English style at the time."  
  
"But what do the engravings mean?" Alex said, not thinking that the type of metal it was or the style was of particular importance.  
  
"A cross on one side, and a circle of thorns on the other. Sounds like Christian mythology to me," the old man said, "but this must have been made only one of two hundred years ad., before the religion really took hold. Hmmm," he looked again, "but the cross is not really like the one you associate with the crucifixion, it's not straight for a start. Where did you find it?"  
  
Lara seemed to be lost in thought. "I found it," said Alex, "in France, the Pyrenees. I was commissioned to do this dig to look for some sort of treasure buried by some Abbot I think, sounded stupid to me but I was getting paid whether I found it or not."  
  
"Did you find it?"  
  
"No, I didn't. But I found this quite by accident and shoved it in my pocket - it looked old. I didn't think much of it until people started searching my flat and following me."  
  
"Have you ever thought that maybe this is the buried treasure?" Lara spoke up, finally coming out of her reverie.  
  
They both looked at her. "What are you thinking Lara?" said Alex, noticing the glint in her eye.  
  
"I'm thinking I know what this is." 


	13. Sangreal

A/N: really appreciating the reviews, keep 'em coming. Get ready for some plot!  
  
*  
  
The two men were looking at Lara expectantly.  
  
She told them about the men she had spied on at the Archaeology Association reception on Saturday night. "They mentioned searching someone's flat for something, but not finding it," she said, "and the scroll was dated as 100 ad., about the same period as that." She gestured at the medallion. "Now, I'm willing to bet this is the missing artefact. They said the scroll meant nothing without it," Lara paused thoughtfully, "but the scroll referred to a map." She looked disappointed.  
  
Alex stood and went to look over Dr Bailey's shoulder. "This could be a map," he said, pointing at the cross. "The dots at the ends of the cross could be towns or something, and maybe we're looking for the place where the lines cross."  
  
Lara looked up at him in surprise, it was actually a sensible suggestion.  
  
"So what did the scroll say?"  
  
Lara looked at the ceiling, trying to remember. "I'm not sure, it was some ancient form of Arabic I didn't quite recognise. There was something about drinking from a fountain of eternity I think. Oh and that the final resting place will be revealed to he who wears the symbol," she said.  
  
"This could be the symbol, it is a medallion after all, such that a nobleman might have worn!" the professor exclaimed. "Let's go and take a look at the scroll, I may be able to translate it."  
  
"Ah, there lies the problem. The scroll was stolen."  
  
The two men looked disappointed, but suddenly Dr Bailey looked up with an interested expression.  
  
"Christian symbolism and drinking from a fountain of eternity, plus the buried treasure of an Abbot," he pondered. "Was he by any chance the Abbot Sauniere?"  
  
"Yes, I think that was it," said Alex. "How did you guess that?"  
  
The older man just smiled in reply. "What do you two know about the legend of the holy grail?"  
  
*  
  
"That's just a bedtime story, the archaeologist's favourite wild goose chase," Alex said.  
  
"I'm inclined to agree," said Lara, "but if this actually is Sauniere's treasure..."  
  
"Who the fuck is Sauniere?" asked Alex impatiently.  
  
"I knew you were only pretending to be an archaeologist," she said mildly.  
  
Unfortunately Alex didn't take the joke well. "Just because I don't know about some ridiculous grail legend. I'm a serious archaeologist Lara, unlike some..."  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?" she replied, turning to him with eyes blazing.  
  
"Ok, this isn't getting us anywhere," Dr Bailey said peaceably. "Berenger Sauniere was a priest in the 19th century, in the town of Rennes-le- Chateau, in the Languedoc region of France. Near where you found this I presume." Alex nodded. "He found some scrolls containing coded messages while restoring the altar, which are said to lead the location of the holy grail."  
  
"But nobody's found it," said Alex impatiently.  
  
"Not yet," said Lara, "do you have the translation of the message?"  
  
The professor looked through the bookcases, eventually pulling out a slim volume. "Holy Blood, Holy Grail," he said by way of explanation, opening it at a bookmarked page. 'Shepherdess without temptation to which Poussin and Teniers hold the key peace 681 with the cross and this Horse of God I reach this daemon guardian at midday blue apples'."  
  
"Sangreal, that's what he said!" They both looked at Lara. "In the museum, one of the men definitely said 'sangreal' - the holy grail, or according to that book, sang real - royal blood in French."  
  
"Indeed," murmured Dr Bailey. "After his find, Sauniere supposedly traveled to Paris and returned with copies of paintings by Poussin and Teniers - 'Les Bergers d'Arcadie' (the Arcadian shepherds) and 'The Temptation of St Antony'. Geometry from these paintings corresponded with the local geography around Rennes-le-Chateau, also a phrase on the tomb in 'Les Bergers d'Arcadie' reads 'Et in arcadia ego...' the same as a similar tomb just outside the town."  
  
"And I am in paradise..." Alex translated the Latin phrase. "Makes sense, to have that on a tomb."  
  
"Or 'I am also in paradise'," said Lara.  
  
Dr Bailey waved a hand dismissively, "whichever," he said. "The interesting thing here is the fact that Sauniere also returned from Paris very wealthy, for he built various elaborate structures in the town, such that a priest would not be expected to suddenly be able to afford. This has led to the theory that the geometry in the paintings were a kind of map, leading to buried treasure. Plus another coded message from the scrolls reads: 'To Dagobert II, king, and to Sion belongs this treasure and he is there dead.'  
  
"Some say the treasure is the holy grail. This book claims, as you say Lara, that the 'sangreal' is the royal blood line - that Jesus survived the crucifixion and went on to father a child with Mary Magdalene, and that the 'treasure' is proof of this. Others say that it is the untold riches of the Templars from the crusades. Perhaps it is a combination of all three."  
  
"Aren't the Knights Templar often associated with the Freemasons, and..." Alex began.  
  
Lara completed the sentence for him, "the Illuminati."  
  
*  
  
A/N: This is a real mystery. 'Holy Blood, Holy Grail' is a book by Michael Baigent, Henry Lincoln and Richard Leigh. For more information www.rennes- le-chateau.com is a good place to start. Also, Gabriel Knight III: Blood of the Sacred, Blood of the Damned is a great adventure game based around the mystery. Any inaccuracies in this and subsequent chapters are purely my own. 


	14. Messing about on the river

A/N: Just to warn you there's some R rated stuff at the end of this chapter.  
  
*  
  
"Do you think your employer was with the Illuminati?" Dr Bailey asked Alex.  
  
The younger man gave a short laugh. "I wouldn't have thought they'd be employing me again, after all they were paying me to get the triangle of light for them, not Lara. Luc Duval, my employer was called. He must have just followed the clues in the coded messages, to what he thought was the location of the treasure and then called me in to retrieve it for him."  
  
"But the treasure was not what he expected, it was this medallion," said Lara thoughtfully. "But perhaps combined with that other scroll in the museum this medallion reveals the location of the treasure, whatever it is."  
  
"Even supposing any of the story is true," said Alex, "there's nothing we can do with just that medallion."  
  
"You're right," Lara allowed, "but perhaps the museum made a copy of the scroll before it was stolen."  
  
*  
  
"Yes, certainly we did," Mr Watson, the museum curator was saying. "We couldn't photocopy it of course, due to its extreme delicacy but we typed up what it said. Shall I print a copy off for you?"  
  
"Yes please," Lara and Alex replied in unison.  
  
"Have you been able to translate it?" Lara asked.  
  
"Unfortunately our ancient languages expert has been on holiday in Spain since we acquired the scroll, so no," Watson said as he tapped away at his computer. Soon the printer sprang into life and he handed an A4 sheet to Lara.  
  
"Thank you, that's wonderful," she told him.  
  
"Could you tell me why there's so much interest in this?" he asked, but they were already out of the door.  
  
*  
  
Back in Oxford again Dr Bailey was examining the sheet.  
  
"Can you translate it?" Lara asked eagerly.  
  
"Yes, I think so. It may take a while though, so why don't you two go and amuse yourselves for a couple of hours?"  
  
*  
  
The two tomb raiders walked slowly away from the college down a tree lined avenue, cows grazing in the meadow to their left. Eventually they reached the banks of the river Isis and Alex pulled Lara down to sit next to him on the sun-warmed grass. He lay back to bask in the hazy afternoon sunshine but Lara stayed sitting up, drumming her hands on the ground.  
  
Alex laughed at her. "Can't you just relax for a couple of hours Lara? You know, the world won't end just because you're not doing anything useful."  
  
She punched him lightly on chest but relented and lay down next to him. They looked up at the sky for a while, watching the clouds sailing languidly along.  
  
"You don't believe in the grail, do you?" Lara asked eventually.  
  
"No, I don't," he said simply.  
  
They lay in silence for a few minutes more. "Come on, I can think of something we can do and it doesn't involve saving the world, I promise," Lara exclaimed, jumping to her feet and pulling a groaning Alex up by the hands.  
  
*  
  
The boat they had rented was long and narrow, and it wobbled unstably as Alex clambered over one velvet cushioned seat to sink down on the facing one. "Aren't you coming to sit with me?" he called, as Lara stepped onto the flat area at the end and found her balance.  
  
"Nope, I'm driving," she called back as a young man handed her a long metal pole. She dug it into the bank to push off, then punted them down the river at quite a speed, expertly throwing the pole out of the water and catching it after every push off the river bed. She swung the pole out to one side under water so that the boat turned sharply into a tributary, then Lara slowed the pace down as she now had to duck occasionally to avoid overhanging branches.  
  
"Are you an expert at everything?" Alex asked with a laugh, as he too had to duck to avoid being swiped by a passing oak.  
  
Lara thought for a moment. "I'm a terrible cook," she said eventually.  
  
A bit further along she pulled the punt up by the bank, where the dangling branches of a willow tree partially curtained them off from the river. Lara laid the pole down carefully and went to join Alex, who shifted over to make room for her on the seat.  
  
"Hey, you're all wet!" he exclaimed, as he tentatively placed an arm around her shoulders.  
  
"Yes, well, it splashes when you go fast," she replied.  
  
"So don't go so fast."  
  
Lara looked at him in confusion, "then how would it be fun?" she asked seriously.  
  
Alex laughed at her again and pulled her body up closer to his. "That's what I love about you, Lady Croft," he whispered in her ear.  
  
Lara turned her head slightly to look at him and their faces were only centimetres apart. Before either of them realised what was happening they were kissing passionately, then she was straddling Alex as he lay back against the wooden seat. As items of clothing were removed he glanced around worriedly, "what if somebody sees us?" he asked.  
  
In response Lara unzipped his trousers and reached inside. "Do you want me to stop?" she asked, as she began massaging his length. He gasped at the sensation and barely managed to shake his head, his desire to be inside her was almost overwhelming.  
  
Lara positioned herself over him and then slowly leant back, taking his entire length inside her. As their bodies joined they both groaned and Lara began to rock her hips against him, loving the feeling of finally having him inside her. As she began to go faster Alex grabbed her hips to stop her moving.  
  
"There's no way I'm gonna let you carry on doing that!" he said.  
  
"Don't you like it?" Lara teased.  
  
"Way, way too much," he replied and rolled her over onto her back on the damp floor of the boat. This time when he re-entered her he took it much slower, wanting this experience to go on for as long as possible. Their eyes were locked as they gently made love, Alex trying to find the position and rhythm that gave her the most pleasure.  
  
"See, you can have fun without going fast," he murmured.  
  
Lara smiled in agreement, but after about twenty minutes she couldn't stand it any longer. She began to thrust her hips against his, forcing him into her deeper and harder. That was more than Alex could take and he lost control, pushing into her faster and faster.  
  
"Oh my god, oh my god!" Lara cried as he brought her almost to climax and she scraped her nails down his back. The sharp pain made him cry out, then push into her so hard that she suddenly orgasmed and screamed his name. As she contracted around his member Alex couldn't hold on any longer and as he exploded inside her and it was all he could do to prevent himself collapsing on top of her. Shifting his weight he looked down at her lovingly, sweat soaked hair falling over one eye.  
  
"Wow!" he said and then laughed at how silly it sounded.  
  
Lara laughed with him and pulled him down onto her, enjoying the feeling of his weight pushing onto her chest. "That was amazing," she said, "you are amazing".  
  
Alex grinned smugly and rolled onto his side. Lara nestled up against his chest and he gently pushed hair away from her face.  
  
"You're so beautiful," he said, looking down at her.  
  
She smiled up at him. "I won't tell you that you're pretty gorgeous too, because I think you already know," Alex opened his mouth to protest, "but at the risk of inflating your ego even further I will tell you that was possibly the best sex I've ever had," she finished. 


	15. Translation

After they had managed to get themselves dressed again Alex picked up the punting pole. "Right, my turn now," he told Lara.  
  
"Do you know what to do with that as well?" she asked as he grasped it and made his way to the end of the boat. Electricity passed between them as their eyes met in response to her flirty joke.  
  
"How hard can it be?" he asked. Lara just raised her eyebrows at him and smiled to herself in smug satisfaction.  
  
Alex pushed the pole down into the water as Lara had done, but for him the boat veered off to one side instead of going straight. He frowned and tried again, with a similar result.  
  
"The pole acts as a rudder," Lara explained, trying not to laugh.  
  
Alex glared at her and this time threw the pole in more straight and adjusted the direction by swinging it under water.  
  
"That's it," Lara said, "but mind the tree."  
  
He ducked instinctively, but when he tried to pull the pole out of the river bed from this position it wouldn't come.  
  
"Twist it!" Lara shouted, "twist the pole and it will come out."  
  
Unfortunately her advice came too late and Alex lost his balance, falling backwards into the river. The splash soaked Lara as she made her way up the punt, bent double with laughter. He emerged from the water, spluttering and gasping for breath and Lara held out a hand to help him back into the boat.  
  
"It's fucking freezing in there, it's not funny!"  
  
"Yes it is," she said, laughing harder at his annoyance.  
  
"We'll see about that," Alex said, taking the proffered hand and using it to pull Lara into the river with him.  
  
"You utter bastard!" she exclaimed, splashing him with the cold water.  
  
He was laughing at her now and he pulled her close to him so she couldn't splash him so easily. "But you love me," he said as he attempted to hold her hands down by her side.  
  
The laughter stopped and they looked into each other's eyes. "Yes, despite my better judgement I do love you Alex West."  
  
He grinned at her, then placed a soft kiss on her lips.  
  
*  
  
Dr Bailey looked up from the papers on his desk as they entered his office, wet clothes clinging to their bodies.  
  
"We went punting," Lara said by way of explanation.  
  
The professor just raised his eyes to the ceiling and shook his head. He couldn't understand why young people insisted on getting in those stupid boats when it always ended in disasters like this. "Well go and stand over there," he gestured at the area where the carpet ended, leaving exposed floor boards by the window. "That carpet is far too valuable to be dripped on."  
  
"Have you got anywhere with the translation?" Lara asked as she complied with his instructions.  
  
"I've translated it," he explained, "but the middle section makes no sense at all. It must be a code, like on the scrolls found by Sauniere."  
  
"Can you figure it out in the same way?"  
  
"Unfortunately not. The original codes involved the use of slightly raised letters, which are then arranged into order. However, these letters are obviously not discernable from this transcription, plus this scroll is in Arabic whereas the others were in Latin. There's no guarantee they were written by the same person or use the same code anyway."  
  
Lara sighed in frustration. "What does the rest say, the parts that do make sense?"  
  
"Pretty much what we thought. It says that the location of the holy grail will be 'revealed to he who wears the symbol of Christ' which I take to mean the medallion as it has that crown of thorns on it. This part is interesting: 'He who drinks from the grail will be given a spring of eternal life. The blood of the Lord shall flow inside him and he shall have power over life'."  
  
"Power over life?" Alex said.  
  
"Power of life, surely?" Lara asked. "With the grail someone would have the power to give life to anyone I suppose."  
  
"No, definitely power 'over' life. The final part says that the symbol or key as it is also called can be located by following the 'map' which I suppose means the map that is constructed using the geometry in the two paintings. All this we know. The coded part of the message must reveal how the medallion can be used to actually locate the grail."  
  
Lara sighed in frustration. "We have a stalemate then. We have the key and whoever is trying to get it from us has the instructions that tell us how to use it."  
  
"The only thing to do is join forces with them," said Alex.  
  
"No," Lara said forcefully. "I don't like their methods, plus they might be the Illuminati. They'd try to kill us." Dr Bailey looked up in shock at this. "We have to play them at their own game."  
  
"Steal the scroll back you mean?" said Alex, "but they must know we'd try and do that. Besides, we don't know who it is that has it, or where it might be."  
  
Lara was silent for a moment, deep in thought. The others knew better than to interrupt her. "All they know is that you have it Alex. They don't know that you know what it is. Here's what we're going to do," she said eventually. 


	16. Boothby's

On Friday morning Lara arrived at Boothby's auction house and entered a crowded room. For once she blended in with everyone else there, dressed as she was in a dark pinstripe trouser suit, hair pulled into a neat bun at the back of her head. Lara hated dressing like this, although Alex had told her that she looked incredibly sexy that morning, and she pulled at the jacket uncomfortably. However, Lara couldn't afford to stand out on this occasion. She found a place to stand at the back where she could survey the entire room and breathed a sigh of relief when she spotted the silver- haired man from the museum sitting near the front. She saw Alex standing at the other side of the room dressed in a pale grey suit, but she avoided letting her gaze linger in that direction.  
  
After working his way through a few tedious furniture lots the auctioneer finally came to the lot Lara was there for, which Alex had dropped off only that morning.  
  
"Item number 4619, an ancient coin or medallion with an unusual design, dated at around 200 AD," the auctioneer began in a slightly bored expression. "Lets start the bidding at £50,000 for this artefact."  
  
After a pause Lara saw the silver haired gentleman raise his card. She hoped he didn't suspect anything, and that Alex's reputation for selling everything he found had preceded him.  
  
"Fifty at the front, do I hear sixty for this interesting item?"  
  
"Sixty thousand by the door, seventy sir?"  
  
Someone else in the room had made a bid! Lara scanned the room trying to discover who it was. She caught Alex's eye for the briefest second and saw that he was also trying to discover who was bidding. The price had got up to £100,000 before she spotted a tall middle aged man with a neat goatee at the side of the room give a slight nod. The older man looked angry and seemed to be unable to work out who was opposing him and as the price was now rising in increments of £50,000 he was beginning to look anxious.  
  
"£900,000 with the gentleman at the front. Do I hear one million pounds?" the auctioneer was beginning to get excited now, but the bearded man shook his head regretfully and pushed past a few people to get out of the room. "Going once at £900,000." the first bidder was looking relieved.  
  
"One million pounds on the telephone...one point one million with the gentleman...two...three..." he kept going, up to one point nine million. He looked at the clerk on the phone, who nodded to bid two million.  
  
Lara smirked, good old Hillary, trust him to leave it until the last possible second to come in with the phone bid. The man shot an angry look in the direction of the phones, obviously taken aback by the fact that another person was competing with him for the item. Lara maintained a calm expression, safe in the knowledge that she didn't actually have to pay whatever it cost her to win, only the commission to the auction house. As long as Alex didn't get greedy that was - Lara had to pay Boothby's for the item, who would then pass the money onto Alex minus commission, then he would return the money to her. She hoped.  
  
"What will you give me to beat the phone bid, sir?" he asked.  
  
The man looked as if he was calculating something, possibly how much the treasure was actually worth, or possibly how difficult it would be to recover the item should he let this anonymous bidder pay for it. Eventually he shook his head angrily.  
  
"Sold then, to the phone bidder for two million pounds." Everyone in the room turned to ask their neighbour what was so special about the rusty lump of metal.  
  
Lara carefully watched the elderly man making his way towards the door just to her left. Her mobile phone vibrated silently in her trouser pocket and she quickly drew it out. Alex had just sent her a text message. 'OTHER BIDDER WAS DUVAL, I'LL CHECK HIM OUT'.  
  
So, Alex's ex-employer had figured out that he'd found the 'real' treasure and decided the only way to retrieve it from him was to pay for it. Lara had to entertain the possibility that it was Duval who had stolen the scroll from the museum, rather than the men she had seen there. Lara followed the grey haired man out into the entrance hall and hid herself behind a pillar to eavesdrop on a phone conversation he was now making.  
  
Alex ducked behind a pillar, across the other side of the hall from the one Lara was currently hiding behind. Luc Duval strode out of the main doors, heading for a large black saloon. Alex followed him out and slid into his own car unnoticed. He grabbed a pair of dark glasses from the pile of junk on the passenger seat and pulled out of the car park behind his quarry. "Two million pounds," he muttered to himself as he drove, "Two million pounds that could be mine if I'd sold it for real. This had better be worth it Lara."  
  
"Two million pounds," the older man was saying in an agitated tone as he paced the floor. He held the handset away from his ear and Lara heard angry noises coming from it. "Duval," he continued, "but it wasn't him that got it, it was a phone bidder..I don't know how!...Yes, we'll figure it out, just give me a few more days...yes alright." the conversation ended and Lara drew back, pressing herself against the masonry as the man turned, surveyed the room and then made for the large glass doors. Lara followed a short distance behind. 


	17. Afterdark surveillance

Lara had spent a tedious day trailing the man around London, but when she finally returned to the manor that evening she was armed with both his office and home address. She went straight through to the kitchen to thank Hillary for the part he played, assuming that he would be there preparing dinner. He was, and he was speaking to someone she couldn't see.  
  
"You know, you don't need to stay here any more, now they think you've sold the artefact they won't be looking for you in your flat."  
  
Lara laughed as she entered and saw Alex leaning back in a chair, feet propped up on the kitchen table and a can of beer in his hand. He gestured at Hillary when he saw her enter and rolled his eyes at her behind the butler's back. "And I thought I was an honoured guest. Just can't get the staff, eh Lara?"  
  
Lara smiled and turned to Hillary. "Is he being a pain?" she asked, reaching out to take a piece of meat from a frying pan, but having her hand slapped gently away.  
  
"Not in comparison to you. Dinner will be ten minutes, if you can contain your impatience that long."  
  
She pouted, walked over to Alex and leant down to kiss him on the lips. He grabbed her by the t-shirt and held her in for a longer kiss.  
  
"Oh please," said Bryce sarcastically, having been enticed into the kitchen by the smell of cooking wafting down to the tech room.  
  
Alex released her and Lara sunk down into a chair next to him. "How long have you been back?" she asked him.  
  
Bryce answered instead of Alex. "He's been here all day, trying to get me to let him train with Simon."  
  
"And what did you say?" Lara asked in amusement.  
  
"He said 'just because you're fucking Lara that doesn't mean you get to play with her toys, you cocky bastard'," Alex repeated. Bryce shot him an evil look.  
  
Alex laughed, then switched to a more serious tone. "Duval just went back to his hotel, then left an hour later with his bags and took a flight to Paris. I didn't quite see the point of following him there. I take it you had more luck with the old guy?"  
  
"Yes, we have his address. But let's eat before we talk business." She shoved Alex's feet off the table to make room for the plates.  
  
*  
  
Two hours later Lara and Alex were sat in her dark green Jaguar, chosen for being the least conspicuous and most comfortable of her extensive vehicle collection, outside a prestigious West London address. The sky was clear and the combination of a full moon and the bright street lights meant they could not count on remaining unseen. They were both dressed entirely in black, and Lara was currently looking through a compact pair of binoculars.  
  
"He's just come out of the shower," she said, "he's getting dressed."  
  
Alex pulled the binoculars out of Lara's hands.  
  
"What did you do that for?" she asked in annoyance.  
  
"I don't want you watching other men naked." He put the binoculars up to his own eyes. "He's putting on a tie...looks like our man's off out. Perfect."  
  
Lara tried to snatch the binoculars back off him but Alex fought her for them, finally pulling them out of her reach. "You have to be nice to me Lara," he warned.  
  
"Why? Why do I have to be nice to you?"  
  
"Because I have something of yours," he teased, grinning.  
  
Lara looked across at him and raised a brow, looking as if she had very little patience for his games. "And what might that be?"  
  
Alex laughed. "Two million pounds."  
  
"Well you know I'd never let you live to enjoy it," Lara chided mildly as she leant in to kiss him.  
  
They sat in silence for a few moments, watching the figure in the house enter a downstairs room and pour himself a glass of something from the bottle on a cabinet. He didn't seem to be going anywhere soon. Lara noticed that Alex had been looking towards her rather than the house for a while now. He leant across and placed a hand on her stomach, which was currently washboard-flat.  
  
"When will you start to get fat?" he asked, only half smiling.  
  
Lara's expression softened. "I don't know, in a couple of months?" she offered. "I've never done this before."  
  
Alex began running his hands through her hair, but Lara kept one eye on the house. "Lara, are you happy about this? I mean about us having a baby?" he asked with a concerned expression. "You've hardly mentioned it all week."  
  
Lara looked across at the figure now visible again at the window and fiddled with the lid on a thermos of coffee. "I am happy that I'm having a baby," she said eventually, "it's just a bit early to be talking about 'us'. And it all seems mixed up together."  
  
Alex nodded seriously. "It's ok, I understand. I didn't mean to put pressure on you Lara - you just don't give much away about your feelings," he gave a lop sided smile and took her hands in his.  
  
"I never said it would be easy, having a relationship with me," Lara said softly.  
  
"So we're having a relationship?" asked Alex, smiling properly this time.  
  
Lara turned her body in the seat to look at him properly. "Don't push me Alex," she said, attempting to sound serious but she couldn't hold back a laugh.  
  
He looked at her for a second, the caught a glimpse of movement out of the corner of his eye. "He's coming out," he said, gesturing at the house and simultaneously pulling Lara in for a kiss.  
  
"I think he's gone," she mumbled eventually, but Alex continued kissing her deeply. He shifted in his seat to get closer to her and reached a hand around her back. Lara lost herself in the kiss for a while longer, but then pulled away. She pulled on a slim walkie-talkie headset and a pair of leather gloves and Alex followed suit. Finally she lifted herself off the seat as far as possible in the confined space to strap on her gun holsters and load them with twin uzis.  
  
Alex and Lara left the car together and made their way cautiously across the street towards the large townhouse. 


	18. Madame St Clair

The house was surrounded by a painted metal fence, about ten feet high and topped by spikes. Alex gave Lara a leg up to the top, then she reached down to pull him up after her before dropping down on the other side. When they were both standing on the other side of the fence Alex began to walk towards the house but Lara put out an arm to restrain him. She took the binoculars out of her rucksack and used them to survey to front aspect of the building. Silently she handed them to Alex and pointed out a camera trained on the area in front of the door and a security light, presumably motion-activated. Alex nodded and they separated, each taking a route around opposite sides of the house until they met again by the back door.  
  
"Any windows open on your side?" Alex asked. Lara shook her head and reached into her backpack again, this time removing a small velvet bundle containing her lock picking equipment. Alex kept watch as she examined the lock, selected two fine metal pins and began working at the mechanism. It was a difficult one and Lara swore a couple of times when one or other of the pins fell onto the floor and she had to switch on her mini Maglite in order to retrieve them. The lock picking itself was done entirely by touch. She finally breathed a sigh of relief when the mechanism turned.  
  
They entered a large kitchen and immediately the burglar alarm began beeping softly. The sound got louder as Lara ran through the house until she reached the box mounted on the wall by the front door. She had pulled a small device out of her bag by as she ran, which she now quickly switched on and held up to the alarm keypad. Numbers cycled through the digital display on the gadget Bryce had designed, and the alarm was getting still louder. "Come on," Lara whispered impatiently, she could tell by the sound of the alarm that it wouldn't be long until it started proper. After what seemed like an eternity of staring at the flashing numbers they stopped on a combination. Lara hurriedly tapped it into the keypad and the alarm stopped. "Whew," she let out the breath she had been holding, "well done Bryce."  
  
"Where are you Alex?" she said, switching the headset on now.  
  
"Library," his voice came into her ear, "no joy yet."  
  
"Ok, I'll look upstairs." She ran up the steps and pushed the first door she got to. Bedroom, not likely to be in there. The next room seemed to be a study and Lara entered, switching on her torch. A large mahogany desk stood in the centre of the room, facing the window and Lara began to search through the papers strewn across it, her long braid swinging over her shoulder as she leant down. Finding nothing she turned her attention to the drawers in the desk. As she rifled through Alex spoke to her again through the head set.  
  
"I think I just heard a car Lara, hang on I'm going to look." Lara stood up sharply, brushing her braid back over her shoulder impatiently. A few seconds later she heard the crunch of gravel through the earpiece. "Shit! No time to get out, we'd better hide."  
  
Lara had a sudden thought. "The alarm, he'll expect it to be set. Can you get there Alex?"  
  
"I'm there, what's the combination?"  
  
"9-6-4-1" Lara remembered. She heard the beeps as Alex quickly typed it in then pressed the set button. Just in time, as then she heard a key in the lock.  
  
"It's ok, I'm hiding in the lounge," Alex whispered. Lara tiptoed to the door of the study and listened carefully. She heard footsteps on the stairs and quickly ducked behind a large sofa that stood in front of the window.  
  
"Come into the study," Lara recognised the voice as that of the silver- haired man.  
  
"Thank you, Monsieur King." The second voice was that of a woman with a strong French accent.  
  
The lights in the room flicked on and somebody sat down on the sofa Lara was hiding behind. Her hands instinctively hovered over her guns as she attempted to crouch further down and remain unseen. She heard what sounded like something being removed from the wall and placed on the floor, then the spinning of what she took to be a safe mechanism and a door opening.  
  
"This is the scroll, Madame St Clair, and the translation of all but the middle section. Our cipher expert is working on that as we speak, we hope to have it decoded by tomorrow."  
  
Lara recognised the name. St Clair, what did that mean to her?  
  
"And the key? Why have you not managed to acquire the key?"  
  
"I have only limited resources to devote to this enterprise, Madame," the man, Mr King, replied with a sigh. "However it should not be too difficult to ascertain who the purchaser was and to...shall we say remove the item from their possession."  
  
Lara had to stifle a snort. Don't count on it, she thought to herself.  
  
"Do you have the documents?" he continued.  
  
Lara heard a briefcase being popped open. The woman stood up from the sofa, presumably to hand the documents to the man.  
  
Silence reigned for a good five minutes, then Mr King spoke up. "This all seems to be in order, except...your older sister?"  
  
There was a pause. "She passed away in 1980," Madame St Clair replied.  
  
Lara's heart missed a beat, for it was suddenly clear what the name and date meant to her.  
  
"Then it would appear that you are the true heir."  
  
At this point the woman excused herself to powder her nose and Lara took the opportunity to whisper into the walkie-talkie. "Alex, distraction please."  
  
"Sure thing Lara," came the reply, closely followed by a loud crash that she heard first hand as well as through the headset.  
  
The man immediately stood up from the desk and left the room, heading downstairs in the direction the noise had come from. Lara quickly left her hiding place, pulling her digital camera from her bag. She took several snaps of the scroll and then for good measure took a couple of the documents the woman had brought, one of which was an extensive family tree. She then left the room and ducked into the bedroom just as King came back up the stairs, shaking his head in confusion. He returned to the study and the lady came out of the bathroom and followed him in, clicking the door shut behind her.  
  
Lara smiled to herself and tiptoed to the staircase, but remembered just in time that one of the steps had creaked on the way up. She couldn't recall which one, however, so she slid down the wide banister and landed softly on the carpet in the hallway. Alex was waiting for her in the shadows and he grabbed her hand and led her quickly through to the kitchen, where a plate lay smashed on the floor.  
  
"Did you get a picture of the scroll?" he whispered urgently.  
  
"Yes," she replied, "now let's get out of here." 


	19. Family Tree

"Did you get a good look at the woman?" Lara asked Alex as they drove back to the manor.  
  
He thought for a moment. "Yes, I did. She's late forties I guess, short dark hair, attractive. Slim figure, but er...well endowed. She actually looked a lot like you, Lara." Alex turned to look at her, intrigued.  
  
"That's not surprising," she said grimly. "She is my aunt."  
  
*  
  
"Your aunt?" Alex repeated for the fifth time as Lara sat down in front of her PC and began plugging in the camera.  
  
"Yes Alex, she is my mother's sister."  
  
"But..I mean, do you know her, are you sure?"  
  
"No, we've never met. But her name is St Clair, and that was my mother's maiden name, and she said her older sister had died in 1980, which is when my mother died. Plus she looks like me, as you said."  
  
An image of the scroll came up on the screen and Alex leant over Lara's shoulder to look. "That's a good one," he said, resting one hand gently on her back. He kissed her softly on the neck and fiddled with her braid as they examined the image. "You're a very impressive burglar, you know that?" he murmured in her ear.  
  
"Why thank you," she replied, "although I didn't actually steal anything."  
  
"What's this one?" he asked, pointing at the screen as the family tree photo came up.  
  
"The Merovingian Dynasty," Lara said, reading out the title of the document.  
  
"Dagobert II," Alex read out the name at the top of the diagram, "I recognise that name, wasn't he in one of those scroll messages Dr Bailey was talking about?"  
  
"Yes," she replied. "To King Dagobert II and to Sion this treasure belongs, and he is there dead," she recited.  
  
"Lara, do you realise what this means?" asked Alex, standing up straight in shock and walking round the large chair to face Lara. He sat himself down on the edge of the desk next to the computer. "Look, this scroll shows the bloodline of King Dagobert, all the way down to the St Clairs - your aunt and your mother," he said, indicating the various points on the screen. "Hang on, shouldn't you be on this?"  
  
Lara rocked back in the leather chair, running both hands over her hair. "I should be on this," she said thoughtfully. "Mr King said that this showed my aunt, Genevieve St Clair to be the 'true heir', but if I was on it..." she trailed off, considering what this revelation might mean.  
  
"The heir?" Alex asked, " the heir to what?" Lara shook her head as if she had no idea.  
  
They were quiet for a while, considering the implications of the document.  
  
"You are the true heir of King Dagobert," Alex said slowly, "so the treasure, whatever it is, belongs to you."  
  
Lara nodded, suddenly feeling a huge responsibility settling on her shoulders. "I think we need to do some research," she said carefully, "and to go and see Dr Bailey again."  
  
Alex took hold of Lara's hands and dragged her closer to him on her wheeled chair, then leant down to speak into her ear. "Sure. But right now I think we should go to bed."  
  
"I'm not tired," she replied, clicking on an icon to dial into the internet.  
  
He leant forward from his seat on the desk and took hold of her hands again, this time pulling her up to stand between his legs. "I didn't mean to sleep," he said softly.  
  
*  
  
Next morning saw Lara up early and searching the internet for information about the family tree. She tapped quietly at the laptop set up at the desk in the corner of her bedroom, trying not to wake Alex who lay asleep in the huge four-poster behind her. However, Lara couldn't help stealing the occasional glance at his sleeping form, as the sheet was flung back to reveal his tanned, muscular back. Eventually she couldn't resist tiptoeing over to sit on the edge of the bed and watch him sleep. Lara smiled as she thought of how long she had denied to herself the fact that she fancied him like hell and she reached out to smooth strands of hair away from his face. As she ran her fingers lightly over the contours of his back he murmured in pleasure and rolled over to look at her with bleary eyes.  
  
"Morning sexy," he said and grabbed Lara's shirt to pull her down on top of him.  
  
She giggled as he rolled her over onto her back, positioning himself above her. "Alex, I have to go out."  
  
"Where to?" he asked as he ran a hand over the side of her face, then lifted her chin so that her mouth met his.  
  
"To the hospital, for an ultrasound." Lara shifted under Alex's body, trying to get free.  
  
"Really?" he asked, holding her down, "why am I not invited to this?"  
  
She stopped struggling and lay still. "It'll probably be really boring, I didn't think you'd want to come."  
  
"Of course I want to come!" Alex rolled over onto his side, propping his head up on one hand and looked at her seriously. "I want to come to everything Lara, I want to be involved in this, ok?"  
  
Lara smiled, "ok."  
  
Alex pulled her body up close to his and hugged her tightly. "You know, this bed is amazingly comfortable," he told her.  
  
"Well there's no time for lounging about in it right now," she said "we have to be in London in," she looked at her watch, "forty-five minutes."  
  
"But Lara, what about...you know?" Alex smiled at her hopefully.  
  
She giggled. "Later," she said firmly and pushed down on his growing arousal in an attempt to make it go away.  
  
"That doesn't work baby," Alex grinned, "there's only one way to make it go away," he said, pulling her down into another kiss.  
  
"I have an appointment," she said sternly, "and if you hadn't spent so long sleeping..."  
  
Alex pouted at her as she pulled him out of bed and into the bathroom, shoving him under a cold shower.  
  
"See, there is another way to make it go away," she said with a smile.  
  
*  
  
Alex came out of the shower five minutes later, drying his hair with a towel as he walked over to look over Lara's shoulder at the computer screen. He read out loud from the web site. "So, contrary to gospel accounts, Jesus of Nazareth survived the crucifixion and married Mary Magdalene, with whom he migrated to the South of France to escape persecution in the holy land. Their children founded the Merovingian dynasty who ruled until the eighth century when King Dagobert II was assassinated, supposedly by the Roman Catholic Church..." he trailed off and looked at Lara in shock. "This says that..."  
  
"I know," Lara said, her voice shaking, "that Dagobert, and therefore that whole family tree are the ancestors of Christ." They looked at each other for a moment. "But it's probably all crap," she said quickly, "I mean, there's no real evidence is there?"  
  
"Yeah, you're probably right Lara, it's just one of those crazy conspiracy theories."  
  
She turned around to look at him and nodded, suddenly noticing that he was only wearing a towel. "Ok, so now you go and get dressed, if you're not ready in five minutes I'm going without you." 


	20. New Life

"Alex, now!" Lara reached an arm through the bathroom door, took hold of his belt and used it to pull him away from the mirror.  
  
"Hey! I haven't finished doing my hair!" Alex tried to pull back to look in the mirror again, reaching for a bottle of gel, but Lara kept hold of his belt and tugged him away.  
  
"Oh quit whining, it doesn't matter," she said, winning the fight as they got closer to the bedroom door.  
  
"I does matter," he whined, as Lara pulled him down the stairs.  
  
"No, it doesn't. We're going on my bike, it's going to get messed up, ok?" She turned around, still keeping hold of Alex's belt. "You are so vain."  
  
"Well, I guess that's true. So, uh, I'm driving yeah?"  
  
"In your dreams."  
  
Alex sighed in submission and climbed onto an antique Harley behind her, placing his hands around her waist.  
  
Lara gunned the ignition and they sped through the gates. She ruthlessly broke the speed limit all the way into London and took a few corners way too fast. Lara knew she was showing off to Alex but she couldn't help it, and she liked to feel him holding on to her tightly.  
  
*  
  
When they pulled up outside the large hospital entrance and removed their helmets Lara got off the bike quickly and made for the automatic glass doors, but Alex restrained her and spun her around to see his serious expression.  
  
"You could have gotten us both killed, Lara. We weren't in that much of a hurry."  
  
She gave a sarcastic smile. "I told you. I like to go fast." She began walking towards the doors again.  
  
Alex remained standing where he was. "You know, you really don't need to prove anything to me," he called after her.  
  
Lara stopped walking, but didn't turn around. She took a deep breath and set her jaw before turning slowly. "Let's not do this now, Alex, or we really will be late," she said as calmly as she could.  
  
"Fine."  
  
*  
  
Soon they were waiting in a treatment room, Lara sitting up on the narrow hospital bed with a sheet over her lap and Alex wandering impatiently around, looking at the pregnancy charts and posters that covered the walls. He turned on the tap of a small metal sink in the corner and used the water to fix his messed up hair in the reflective glass of the door.  
  
Lara sighed loudly, breaking the silence that had reigned for a good few minutes. "Are you trying to be this annoying or does it come naturally?" she snapped.  
  
Alex scowled at her, then leant back against a wall with his arms folded across his chest, looking out of a high window at the sky. The poster he was leaning against came unstuck and began to swing from one corner as he stepped away from that section of wall, trying to look like he had nothing to do with it.  
  
Lara just shook her head and absently ran a hand over her tight plait, as if making sure her hair was still in place. Suddenly the door opened and a female doctor in a white lab coat entered, holding a clipboard against her chest.  
  
"Lara Croft?" she asked brightly. "My name is Doctor Amanda Goodyear and I'll be looking after you for the next few months." She shook hands with Lara, then turned to Alex. "And you must be the father?" she asked, sticking the loose poster back on the wall before holding out a hand to him.  
  
"Yeah, Alex West," he said and shook hands, still scowling.  
  
"Ok then," Dr Goodyear said slowly, with a false smile. She turned back to Lara. "Let's get going. How have you been feeling?"  
  
They talked for a couple of minutes as the doctor examined Lara and soon an image came up on a computer screen.  
  
"Right," Dr Goodyear pointed at the monitor with her pen, "this is your uterus, and this...this here is your baby."  
  
Lara leant forward to get a better look and smiled when she saw the tiny form that was being indicated to her. "Wow," she breathed.  
  
Alex walked over to look casually over Lara's shoulder, but his mouth dropped open when he saw the image on the screen. "Th...that's..." he stammered.  
  
"Amazing?" Lara suggested, turning to look at him.  
  
Alex grinned at her and put an arm around her shoulders. "Yeah. Amazing." 


	21. Hit Me

A/N: Sorry it's been a little slow going recently, but to be fair I have finals (big scary exams) soon. I hope people are enjoying my little story, any suggestions would be much appreciated.  
  
*  
  
As they left the hospital and walked up to Lara's bike Alex held a hand out expectantly. Lara looked at him in confusion.  
  
"I take it the plan is to go and see Dr Bailey again and get that scroll translated?" Lara nodded, "well, it's my turn to drive!" Alex said with a smug smile.  
  
Lara folded her arms and looked at him in amusement, one eyebrow raised. Alex looked right back at her, equally amused by her response. He reached out and grabbed hold of the lapel of her leather jacket, using it to pull her body right up next to his. Still holding her close to him he kissed her gently until she relented, finally parting her lips so he could slip his tongue inside her mouth. As they kissed Alex gently slid his hand down her jacket and into the pocket to carefully remove the bike keys without her noticing.  
  
"Come on, let's go," he said, pulling away and getting on the bike. He put the key in the ignition and gunned the engine as Lara laughed and whacked him hard across the shoulder.  
  
"Hey!" he exclaimed, now even more determined to scare her on the way to Oxford.  
  
*  
  
"You are such a hypocrite!" Lara shouted angrily as she pulled off her motorcycle helmet and stood facing Alex, hands on her hips.  
  
He ran one hand roughly through his hair, looked at Lara, then sighed. He shook his head at her then started walking towards her, but he brushed past her and made for the college entrance.  
  
"How dare you ignore me?" Lara said angrily, quickly following after him, "aren't you going to argue with me?"  
  
Alex stopped and stood for a second with his back to her, then turned around slowly. "No, I've had enough of arguing with you. Is that what you want me to do? Do you want to fight with me Lara? Because if you punch me again I'll fight back," he warned.  
  
"Do I look scared?" she asked icily, adrenaline starting to pump through her veins. For some reason she really wanted to fight him, as if by beating him she would prove she didn't need him. Lara took a step towards him threateningly.  
  
Alex looked around nervously. A couple were walking down towards the river, arm in arm and a group were jogging in the opposite direction but there was nobody in the immediate vicinity. "You're really fucked up Lara, you know that? This isn't going to help anything," he was removing his leather jacket as he spoke.  
  
Lara laughed nastily, then suddenly swung a punch at his stomach. Before it connected Alex grabbed her wrist and used it to spin her around so he was holding her in front of him with her arm twisted against her chest. She breathed in sharply through her teeth then kicked backwards, the sudden pain in Alex's knee causing him to stagger back.  
  
Lara stood, hands by her side, fists clenched and watched him steady himself on a nearby car. "Hit me Alex, I know you want to," she said, shooting daggers at him with her eyes.  
  
"No. I won't hit you."  
  
"Oh please, don't even start with the sexism." With that she punched him squarely in the jaw, then spun on one heel and kicked him in the stomach with the other foot. Alex bent over at the waist in pain, but then suddenly stood up straight, grabbed Lara by her t-shirt and slammed her body up against a wall, causing her to cry out in pain. He raised his other hand, knuckles clenched, but paused.  
  
"Go on," Lara dared him, but he lowered his fist. She pushed him backwards as hard as she could in disgust and Alex fell onto the stony floor. Blood was trickling from his mouth and he wiped it away with one hand.  
  
"Does it make you feel better to hurt me? Does it?" he asked, his voice rising. Lara didn't reply. "It's not because you're a woman that I won't hit you," he said, sitting up and reaching for his jacket, "it's because I love you...and because you're carrying my child."  
  
He stood up and brushed himself down, looking around to check that no one had witnessed their fight. "I don't know what your problem is Lara, but let's just forget about it for now and get on with the job. Fighting each other isn't going to get us anywhere."  
  
Lara just stood with her mouth open, looking at him in shock. Not only was Alex being sensible, but he was 'handling' her. He really had changed. She swallowed as her throat suddenly seemed very dry, then she nodded and turned to enter the college.  
  
*  
  
Dr Bailey greeted them warmly as they sat down in his room, but immediately noticed Alex's bleeding lip. "Last time you were here you had a black eye, and now a split lip..." he looked at Lara sharply, "are you beating him up?"  
  
Alex dabbed at his mouth with a shirt sleeve and looked at Lara, who was squirming uncomfortably on the sofa. "No, I'm just clumsy," he said finally, but he couldn't resist shooting Lara a quick sarcastic smirk.  
  
She ignored him and wondered how she could even have considered getting together with him - it seemed that he couldn't help but antagonise her. She decided, however, to take his advice and just get on with the job. Lara handed a print off of the scroll photo to the professor, who sat back in his chair and began examining it.  
  
Lara and Alex sat in silence not wishing to disturb him, and soon Dr Bailey got a pad of paper out of his desk drawer and began making notes. They shared a quick glance, but continued to sit quietly. Lara folded her arms and began scanning the volumes on the shelves that lined the walls.  
  
At length the tutor spoke up. "Well, it's not the same cipher as the scrolls from Rennes-le-Chateau, but there are raised letters. I'm not sure I can decode this myself, but one of the maths fellows is a bit of a cipher nut. Could I show it to him? I'm sure he could figure it out soon enough."  
  
Lara and Alex looked across at each other again, then both nodded. There really wasn't much choice but to trust someone else if they wanted to solve the puzzle.  
  
"How long do you think it would take? I think time may be of the essence here.."  
  
The older man shrugged. "We will have to see Lara," he smiled at her tense expression, "patience is a virtue."  
  
"Unfortunately I do not think it will be one that will help us recover the grail." 


	22. Two can play that game

Lara lay awake late into the night, alone in the large four poster bed for the first time in the last few days. She couldn't sleep because she could only think about one thing. Alex. Once again she had the horrible feeling that she was the one that was in the wrong and the worst thing was she wasn't sure that he would accept her apology this time. Lara fought with the tangled silk sheets, and finally threw them off in annoyance. She rolled over and punched a pillow as hard as she could before burying her face in it as she fought back a sob. Lara struggled with her emotions for a few more minutes but finally gave in, allowing herself to cry freely for the first time in years until tiredness overtook her and she fell into a troubled sleep.  
  
*  
  
As Lara slept, her enemies were getting a head start on the day. Just after nine Charles King was in his office and smiling at the information his assistant had just given him.  
  
"And a hundred thousand was enough?" he asked.  
  
"It only took eighty," the younger man told him smugly.  
  
"Excellent. So he made you a copy of the medallion?"  
  
"No, I think that would have been too risky. He gave me the exact dimensions and angles of the cross, so we can reproduce it."  
  
King nodded and took the piece of paper from his assistant. "Let's hope they are the real dimensions," he muttered, finding a ruler and protractor in his desk drawer.  
  
"Oh," the man standing before him began to look nervous, "I didn't think of that." He began fiddling with his cufflinks.  
  
The older man looked up at him with an expression of contained impatience, shook his head slowly then began carefully drawing out an exact reproduction of the cross on the medallion.  
  
*  
  
Lara was woken by the doorbell ringing and when she glanced across at the clock on her bedside table she saw that it was past ten and she had overslept, something she never allowed herself to do. She groaned, climbed out of bed and stepped into her slippers before checking her reflection in an ornate mirror which stood in the corner of the room. Her eyes were slightly red and puffy from crying but there was nothing she could do about that now. On the back of the door hung a white silk robe that matched her pajamas, and Lara grabbed it and began to pull it on as she headed down the wide staircase towards the entrance hall.  
  
Pimms had just opened the large main door and looked surprised at who he found leaning up against the door frame. He had obviously expected Alex to be staying with Lara as usual. Lara shook her head and shrugged at her new butler's confused and nervous expression. He was a strange man she reflected, not for the first time.  
  
Alex was shown in and he immediately noticed Lara gracefully descending the staircase, still in her nightclothes and her hair messed up as if she had just got out of bed. He felt a sudden wave of compassion for her, but then reminded himself that her sweet and innocent appearance was deceptive and set his face in a business-like expression, shoving his hands deep in his trouser pockets.  
  
"We agreed to go at ten," he said simply.  
  
"I overslept," Lara shrugged, "give me ten minutes." She turned and began to climb the stairs again.  
  
"No, it's alright Lara," Alex called after her, relenting, "have breakfast first at least." He flashed her a quick smile as she turned and Lara smiled back weakly.  
  
"Good morning Lara, Alex," Hillary said brightly as they sat down in the kitchen and he poured coffee for them both. Bryce was noticeably absent from the breakfast table; it was unlike him to be at work already, he normally dragged this meal out as long as possible. Being the model of discretion Hillary made no mention of the fact that Lara and Alex had obviously spent the night apart.  
  
"Eggs benedict?" he offered, carrying a pan over from the stove. Lara nodded.  
  
Alex shook his head. "I've eaten," he stated, spooning three sugars into his coffee. He sat back with the cup in his hand and watched Lara eat. The silence was broken only by Hillary whistling to himself as he washed the cooking things up in the sink across the room.  
  
Suddenly Lara pushed the plate away and stood up. "I'm sorry Hilly," she blurted out before running from the room. The butler exchanged a knowing glance with Alex before turning back to the dishes with a sigh. Alex fought the urge to go after Lara and make sure she was alright but after a few minutes he just had to go and check.  
  
He stood outside the half open door of the bathroom awkwardly. "Are you ok?" he called stiffly. There was no response. "I thought the doctor said you should stop getting the morning sickness soon?" he asked tentatively.  
  
There was the sound of the toilet flushing then Lara appeared at the doorway. "I'm fine Alex," she said in an impatient tone, brushing past him. "Hillary?" she called loudly as she strode across the entrance hall.  
  
The butler came rushing out of the kitchen to follow her up the staircase a few paces behind, but he did give Alex a sympathetic smile as he stood watching, obviously exasperated. Hillary had refrained from attending Lara while she showered and dressed recently as Alex had been staying, but she obviously wanted him to again today. In a way he was pleased as there was nothing he liked better than looking after his charge, but he was also saddened as Lara seemed distressed after what he guessed was a fight with Alex yesterday.  
  
Alex took a seat in an antique-looking leather chair by the currently inactive fireplace and looked around. Not for the first time he wondered at how Lara could live in this place, which seemed so austere to him. And to live here alone as well (staff didn't count, he surmised), he could only conclude that there was a lot about Lady Croft that he still, and possibly never would, understand. But despite his inability to comprehend her lifestyle Alex couldn't help but ardently admire and yes, love her intensely. It was going to be a struggle to ignore his feelings for her, but hell, hadn't he done it for years before this?  
  
He stood up and began wandering around impatiently, Lara was taking a long time getting dressed, especially as she had someone to assist her with it. Anyway, what was that about for Christ's sake? How on earth could she need someone to help her get showered and dressed? Alex picked up a vase from a wooden plinth and felt an overwhelming urge to throw it across the room at the thought of someone else seeing Lara naked. But maybe he didn't, he reasoned, maybe he just closed his eyes and handed her the clothes. Alex sighed loudly and carefully replaced the artifact.  
  
The sound of footsteps on the stairs behind him caused Alex to turn and see that Lara was dressed - in her trademark combination of combat shorts, tight t-shirt and army boots. Her hair was back in its neat braid and she no longer looked as tired as she had at breakfast. In fact she looked stunning, as usual.  
  
Lara wondered what Alex had been sighing about, secretly hoping it was her. "Let's go," she said, looking him in the eye.  
  
As they walked out of the door Lara immediately noticed the gleaming two- seater jeep parked up by the fountain that adorned the sweeping drive. She looked across at Alex with a raised eyebrow, "new wheels?"  
  
"Yeah, I picked it up this morning. Like it?" he asked with a grin, forgetting for a moment that he was trying to be serious with her.  
  
Lara frowned. "I thought you said you were in debt, that's why you accepted the money for that story in the paper..."  
  
"Yeah, I did." He paused. "But I wasn't fifty grand in debt!" he couldn't resist grinning again, although Lara seemed cross. She scowled at him, but got into the passenger seat without even suggesting that they should take one of her cars, or that she should drive.  
  
She crossed her arms and sat in silence as they drove the now-familiar route up to Oxford. Lara had been planning to attempt an apology for her behaviour the previous day but now she had changed her mind. Somehow the fact that Alex had actually made a profit out of selling the information about her and was enjoying the proceeds made her look at the whole situation differently. Also there was the fact that he was acting so coldly towards her as if he had just switched his feelings off overnight. While she had spent the night fretting and even crying over him, the bastard couldn't seem to care less. Fine, two can play at that game, Lara thought to herself. 


	23. Answers, or more questions?

A/N: Due to popular demand, another chapter. Enjoy.  
  
*  
  
Lara directed Alex to the address that Dr Bailey had given her the previous afternoon, confident that his friend would have the cipher decoded by mid- morning the next day.  
  
"Left here," she instructed, looking up from the map spread across her lap.  
  
Alex slammed on the brakes and spun the wheel to make it into the road they had almost already gone past. "A bit more warning next time, please Lara," he said in irritation.  
  
"Fine. Right in about half a mile."  
  
Alex gripped the steering wheel more tightly but didn't respond as he knew she was just trying to provoke him. However, he breathed a sigh of relief when they finally pulled into the driveway of a large, old-looking house which was covered in ivy and set back from the road. They both hopped out of the Jeep into the warm summer sunshine and Lara rang the doorbell. A friendly looking man of about fifty greeted them.  
  
"Mike Digby?" the man nodded in reply, "I'm Lara Croft, this is Alex West. I believe you are expecting us?"  
  
"Yes of course," he said warmly, welcoming them in to the house and through to a comfortable lounge. Photos of smiling children lined the mantelpiece and a large vase of flowers took up most of the windowsill. A small blonde woman of a similar age to the man stood up from an armchair, folding up the newspaper she had been reading.  
  
"You must be John's archaeologist friends," she said, taking in their appearance. "Don't you make the sweetest couple?"  
  
Lara and Alex exchanged an uncomfortable look. "Uh, we're not a couple," Alex said, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. His words were like a sword to Lara's heart, but she forced herself to continue looking directly at the woman.  
  
"Right, sorry," she said, embarrassed.  
  
Mike Digby smiled and stepped forward. "This is my wife Sue," he explained. "Honey, this is Alex West," he indicated, "and Lady Lara Croft."  
  
"It's lovely to meet you both. Can I get you tea or coffee? Oh and do take a seat."  
  
"Coffee, thank you," Lara said, sitting down in an armchair. The men joined her.  
  
"Professor Digby, I don't know if you..." Lara began, but he cut her off by raising a hand.  
  
"Mike, please. And John told me you'd want to get straight to the point. But can I just say this is a fascinating code, I've never seen one quite like it."  
  
"Have you solved it?" Alex was unable to contain his eagerness to hear what it said.  
  
"Yes, I think so. But it doesn't make much sense - could you give me some context for it?"  
  
"I'm afraid not," Lara said shortly, "please, may we see the solution?"  
  
Mike smiled in submission and got up. He took a piece of paper off a desk that stood in the corner of the room and handed it to Lara.  
  
"My wife translated it from the Arabic," the professor said, "she is the reader in Classical Languages you know." Lara looked up briefly and smiled politely.  
  
She sat studying the sheet in silence for so long that Alex, unable to contain his impatience, had to get up and go and look at it over her shoulder. Lara could feel his warm breath on her neck and she struggled to concentrate on the document.  
  
They both looked up at the sound of a tray being set down on the coffee table in front of them. "Not a couple eh?" Sue asked with amusement. Alex realised he was resting one hand on Lara's shoulder and he quickly removed it and stood up, clearly his throat. Lara smiled privately to herself.  
  
She read aloud to herself. "North is life and South is death. West is the city of the enemy and East the exorcism of the legion. Where all points cross seek again. Life and death both you will find there."  
  
"We're going to need an atlas," Alex said and Lara nodded in agreement.  
  
"And possibly a Bible," she added.  
  
"I'm sure I can find those for you," said Mike, getting up.  
  
Lara held up a hand to stop him. "No, no. I wouldn't want to put you to any more trouble. We have everything we need at home," she said, looking at Alex pointedly.  
  
"Yes of course," he continued for her, understanding her desire for secrecy, "but, uh, thank you for everything you've done."  
  
"No problem," Mike said, throwing his hands up in resignation, "it was an interesting challenge."  
  
"They didn't drink their coffee," said Sue with a hurt expression as the door clicked shut. 


	24. Catch me if you can

"Atlas," Lara stated, pulling a large volume off a low shelf in the library of Croft Manor, and heaving it up onto a large table.  
  
Alex flopped into a leather chair in front of the book. "But we have no idea where to start," he said in bewilderment.  
  
"Well, the coded message describes the four points on the cross on the medallion, North, South, East and West," Lara began to explain as she pulled the dust sheet off a bookcase in the corner.  
  
"I realise that," Alex snapped at her sarcastically.  
  
"Let me finish," Lara retorted as she scanned the shelf, "and the location of the grail is the place where the lines cross..."  
  
"Again, that much is obvious."  
  
"The clues must relate to the grail in some way, or they're religious references." Lara found the book she was looking for and carefully removed the ancient volume and carried it over to the table. "Hence the bible," she said, sitting down opposite Alex.  
  
"So?" he asked her impatiently.  
  
"So, perhaps the references to 'life' and 'death' refer to the places where Jesus was born and died."  
  
"Ok, Jesus was born in Bethlehem. Supposedly." Alex flipped through to the relevant page of the Atlas, "here," he pointed to the city on the map of Israel.  
  
"And he died in..." Lara stopped short, "we'll find out." She leant back in her chair and began flipping through the crisp yellow pages of the ageing bible.  
  
Alex leant back in his chair just as Lara was doing and placed his hands behind his head. After a few minutes he spoke up. "You'll be there forever."  
  
Lara looked up at him with a scornful expression then turned back to her study of the ancient volume.  
  
"Do you have an encyclopaedia?"  
  
Lara looked up again from the pages and sighed. "Yes, ok, it's probably in that shelf over there," she indicated the one which she had pulled the atlas from.  
  
They both flicked through pages quietly for a minute, but Lara couldn't concentrate on the words and looked up across the desk. Alex was carefully reading a long passage in the encyclopaedia and didn't notice her watching him. Lara desperately wanted to talk to him about what was going on between them, but she had never been the sort of girl who needed, or wanted, to have in depth discussions about 'us' or 'where we're going'. But then perhaps that was because she'd never not been in control in a relationship before. She didn't even know what words to use to bring the subject up and tried out various questions in her mind but none of them sounded right. Lara shook her head. Damn it, she wasn't going to be that sort of girl.  
  
"Golgotha," Alex said, looking up and meeting her eye. "Just outside Jerusalem." He pointed to the city on the map. "But that can't be the South point of the cross because it's to the North of Bethlehem, see."  
  
"Oh." Lara said, leaning across the desk to look. "Maybe we're on completely the wrong track anyway," she said with disappointment as she flopped back into her chair.  
  
Alex just shrugged and rocked back in his chair, causing Lara to scowl at the damage he was probably doing to the antique piece of furniture, not to mention the three hundred year old carpet.  
  
They turned back to the books for a while longer but then Alex spoke up. "I can't stand all this studying Lara, lets get outside and go for a run or something."  
  
Lara smiled. "You managed to do enough studying to pass a degree in archaeology, God knows how."  
  
"Nah that was just natural genius, I didn't do any studying," Alex said with a grin.  
  
Lara rolled her eyes. "Fine lets go for a run, it always helps me think anyway."  
  
*  
  
When they had both got changed into running gear they set off on a favourite path of Lara's that led through the woods. It could be either a four or ten mile round trip, depending on which track she took at a fork about a short way in. Lara set off at a fastish pace which normally got her around the shorter route in about half an hour and Alex ran along comfortably beside her. After they'd been going for a while he ran on ahead and Lara let him, because soon he came to the place where the path divided and he stopped, catching his breath as she caught up.  
  
"Which way?" he asked between breaths.  
  
Lara thought for a second. She'd never gone round the long route this fast before; it normally took about an hour and a half at a slower jog. But that wasn't to say it couldn't be done and she really wanted the cocky bastard to give up before she did.  
  
"It's that way," she said brightly, pointing to the right and set off at the same fast pace.  
  
After a while on this trail the pace was starting to tell and Lara's breathing was becoming laboured. She brushed sweat off her forehead with a sleeve and steeled herself to keep going. Alex was breathing heavier than her, he was sure to give in first.  
  
Twenty minutes later Lara really wasn't sure she could keep going any longer, and she estimated that there was another couple of miles before they got back to the manor. Lara's vision was becoming blurred but she kept going, knowing from past experience of running for her life that she could keep it up for a while longer past this stage. But two more miles? Well, she'd keep going until she either got home or actually collapsed because there was no way Alex was going to beat her if she had anything to do with it. Looking across she noticed with satisfaction that he looked about ready to collapse himself.  
  
Lara smiled as best she could while panting for breath and closed her eyes. She counted down from three and then picked up the pace until she was practically sprinting along the straight stretch of track, eyes still shut as if this would block out the pain.  
  
"Ok," Alex called after her breathlessly, "you," another breath, "win."  
  
Grinning in triumph Lara stopped and turned slowly, shoulders heaving and sweat dripping from her forehead as she leant forward to try and recover her own breath. Alex was lying on his back on the stony path and his shirt was soaked through with his sweat. Lara laughed and walked back along the track until she was standing over his body, one foot planted squarely on either side of his chest.  
  
Alex opened his eyes at the sound of her footsteps to see first Lara's legs, looking very long from this angle, then her arms folded across her chest, then up to her face sporting a victorious smile. She cocked her head to one side as she watched him, then unfolded her arms and held one out to Alex to help him up.  
*  
  
"You can take the first shower," Alex said generously as they returned to the manor.  
  
"That's very kind," Lara said with a smirk, "but unnecessary. There are seventeen bathrooms. Hillary will show you to one."  
  
The butler nodded and led Alex away through the house and Lara made her way to her own long and extremely hot shower.  
  
When Lara came down the staircase, dressed but drying her hair with a towel as she went she found that Alex was back at the books. As she entered the library she dropped the wet towel carelessly on the floor and walked over to look over his shoulder. Suddenly Lara leant forward, gripped the page of the atlas with the map of Israel and ripped it from the spine. Alex gasped as she did this and stood up in shock, "isn't that a valuable book?" he spluttered.  
  
Lara shrugged and turned on her heel, making for her study with the page in her hand. She swept the desk clear with her arm and placed the map in front of her as she sat down. Rummaging in a drawer she came out with a protractor, ruler and pencil and beckoned to Pimms, who was standing in the doorway waiting for instructions. "Get the medallion," she told him.  
  
As Pimms bowed out of the room Lara began drawing a line down the map using the ruler. Alex, looking at it upside down from the other side of the desk, saw that she was marking out a North-South line from Nazareth to Jerusalem. "Of course, Jesus lived in Nazareth."  
  
Lara nodded and reached out a hand for the medallion that Pimms was now holding out to her. Lara measured the line of the cross on the artefact and then the one she had just drawn, then found a calculator on which to do a quick sum. She then drew a small cross at a carefully measured point on the line. "This is where the lines cross and hence where we need to look, we don't even need to solve the rest of the clue."  
  
Alex frowned. "Perhaps we should, to be sure," he suggested.  
  
Lara nodded in agreement and used the protractor to measure the angle of the intersection, and the ruler to measure the length of the second line. She then transposed this onto the map at the correct ratio. The West end of the line landed on the city of Caesara, the Eastern end on Gadara by the sea of Galilee.  
  
"Caesara is the modern name for what was Palestine," Alex said, "the Roman headquarters - the city of the enemy."  
  
"What about Gadara?" Lara asked.  
  
"The Gadarean swine," a timid voice spoke up from the back of the room. Both Lara and Alex looked up in surprise at Pimms. "Catholic upbringing," he explained with a nervous smile, seeing they wanted more he continued, "I think this is the one where Jesus met a man who was possessed. He asked the spirit its name and it said something like 'my name is legion, for there are many of us' and then, er, Jesus exorcised the evil spirits into a herd of pigs, or swine."  
  
Lara smiled. "The exorcism of the legion." 


	25. Arrival

Lara settled back in the large plane seat with a newspaper. In the seat next to her Alex was enjoying his complimentary champagne in an obvious way that Lara guessed was supposed to rub her nose in the fact that she wasn't supposed to be drinking 'in her condition' as he took pleasure in calling it to her utmost annoyance. They weren't speaking. The previous afternoon they had argued about whether Lara should go alone on this trip and she had lost, then they'd argued about whether to travel first class, and Lara had won as it meant they could get on a much earlier flight. Alex didn't seem too put out by being forced to travel first class, especially seeing as Lara had ended up agreeing to pay the difference between the ticket and a standard class one.  
  
Lara stared at the newspaper without taking any of the words in. Something was bothering her - there was some niggling feeling at the back of her mind that something wasn't quite right but she couldn't pin it down. She put the paper down on the small table that protruded from the side of the seat and concentrated on retrieving the thought by breathing slowly and clearing her mind.  
  
"Lara?" her concentration was broken. She raised a finger to her lips to silence Alex and went back into her trance. She had it. When she had been in Charles King's house, listening in on his conversation with Genevieve St Clair he had told her that he would easily find out who had bought the medallion and 'remove it from their possession' as he had put it. So why hadn't he? Nobody had even attempted to break into the manor and she didn't doubt it would only take a few phone calls and bribes to discover who had purchased an item from an auction. Now Lara was concerned, but there was little she could do about it now so she picked the newspaper back up.  
  
"Lara?" she turned to Alex now with slanted eyes. "You have your paper upside down again," he commented dryly, then turned back to the in-flight movie.  
  
*  
  
After a tense hour in customs, during which Lara became almost convinced that one of the officials would discover the false bottom in the specially lined suitcase he was searching through, the pair stepped out of the airport's automatic glass doors into a wall of suffocating heat.  
  
"Ah, summer in Tel Aviv," Lara said with a smile as she hailed a taxi. The large number of dents and scratches on the vehicle didn't inspire her with great confidence in the grinning driver.  
  
"Where you wanna go lady?" he asked in a thick accent, recognising her as English.  
  
Lara replied in Hebrew, asking to be taken to somewhere she could rent an off-road vehicle while Alex threw their cases in the boot.  
  
The place he took them to had a large selection of Land Rovers and it didn't take long for Lara to secure the use of the best one they had. Soon they were driving up a busy coastal road with amazing views of the Mediterranean, Lara at the wheel of course.  
  
"Do you think we could pretend to get on, just for the duration of this trip?" Alex asked, breaking the silence at last, knowing that they were not in a situation where Lara could walk off. She didn't reply. "I'm not going to ask what it is that made you suddenly start hating me again the other day, because quite frankly I don't care anymore, but I think it might be a good idea if we try not to argue when we're supposed to be working together."  
  
"I am trying not to argue with you. By not talking to you." Lara thought for a second. "But what do you mean about me suddenly starting hating you again?"  
  
Alex turned from the view to look at her steadily. "On Friday, after we went to the hospital. I take it you remember wanting to fight with me? And hitting me? Again?"  
  
Lara drew a slightly laboured breath. "Yes. But I don't hate you Alex."  
  
He snorted and turned back to look out of the window. "You could've fooled me," he muttered.  
  
While this was a conversation Lara desperately wanted to have she really couldn't think of a reply to that so they drove on in silence.  
  
*  
  
It took them about an hour to reach Afula, the nearest city to their destination in the Jezreel valley. It was early evening by now and they had trouble finding a hotel that wasn't fully booked, but one was eventually located and Alex sat down on a plush leather sofa in the large lobby while Lara went up to the reception desk.  
  
A neatly dressed woman greeted her in perfect English. "I need two rooms, probably for a few days," Lara stated.  
  
The woman looked through a large volume while Lara tapped her nails on the shiny wooden surface of the desk. "Why do I get a funny feeling that you're about to tell me you only have one room free?" she asked.  
  
The receptionist looked up with a blank smile. "No, we have two rooms available, they're next to each other is that ok?"  
  
Lara sighed with relief and nodded. They were shown up to the rooms on the third floor and after unpacking Alex knocked on Lara's door to suggest going out for dinner. When there was no reply he pressed his ear against the door and heard a shower running inside. "Hmm, time for a revenge attack," he said to himself with a smirk.  
  
The door was locked, so Alex went back into his own room and out onto the balcony. The next balcony along was Lara's, and luckily there was only about six feet between them. He climbed up onto the railings and steadied himself against the wall, avoiding looking down at the three storey drop to the street below. He then leapt easily across the gap, landing in a crouch on the concrete floor of the other balcony. He immediately got up and pressed himself against the wall, looking carefully into the room through the french windows. Alex noticed with satisfaction that Lara must still be in the bathroom, but when he tried the doors he found them to be locked. A bit further along the wall a window was partially open so Alex crept over to that. A safety device prevented it from opening fully, but that was quickly removed using the screwdriver attachment on penknife he always carried, and within a minute he had climbed through and closed the window behind him.  
  
The shower shut off, leaving Alex no time to implement his plan fully. Never mind, he thought, and stepped quickly over to the double bed, hopping on to lie on top of the covers. A travel guide to the holy land lay on the bedside table and Alex smiled at the idea that Lara thought she would get some sightseeing in. He picked it up and began to read a page entitled 'what to see in Jerusalem'. At the sound of the bathroom door opening he lowered the book and looked over it at Lara, drying her hair with a towel and naked as the day she was born. A grin spread across his face as she stopped in her tracks.  
  
Alex dropped the book onto his lap to cover the effect the sight was having on him and continued looking at her unashamedly. "This time I believe the pleasure is all mine," he said, still smiling broadly.  
  
Lara looked around the room as she wrapped the towel around her body, but she couldn't for the life of her see how he'd got in. She quickly checked that the door was indeed locked, the walked over to the bed, picked up the book and replaced it on the table. "So I can see," she said mildly, fixing her eyes on his crotch.  
  
Alex laughed. "Why don't you get dressed? I'm taking you out to dinner and we're going to have a civil conversation without fighting."  
  
"We are?" Lara sighed and turned to the wardrobe, dropping the towel to the floor. She removed a red dress and pulled it on over her head, then turned back to Alex, who was still lying on her bed looking pleased with himself.  
  
"Ok, I'm dressed," she said breezily as he sat up and took notice of what she was wearing. His mouth dropped open. The dress rested just above the knee and was tight in all the right places.  
  
"Are you, uh, not wearing any, uh, underwear with that?" Alex stuttered.  
  
"Nope, let's go," Lara smiled as she stepped into some shoes and grabbed her keys. 


	26. Civil Conversation

A/N: I'll have to join the ranks of people claiming exams as an excuse for not updating much recently, but my excuse is good as on Saturday morning I start finals for a degree in law from Oxford University. I guess this counts as a little light revision relief.  
  
Oh and next year I'm taking a year out to travel and write my novel - stay tuned for that one!  
  
*  
  
Somehow they managed to pick a restaurant without arguing, and to order a bottle of wine they both agreed on. Of course, it would be too much to expect the civil conversation to last.  
  
"Do you er, um," Alex began, ripping a bread roll up with intense concentration, "don't you.."  
  
Lara rolled her eyes across the table at him. "Spit it out..." she prompted.  
  
Alex sighed and placed the remaining crumbs back on the side plate. "I'm just concerned about you going 'tomb raiding' in..."  
  
"In your condition," she finished with him, a sarcastic note in her voice.  
  
"Yeah." He looked up and met her eyes for the first time, but Lara hardly noted the genuine concern expressed in them. He frowned at her angry expression. "Is it really so bad for me to be worried, Lara? You're carrying my...I mean our child, and you're going into God knows what sort of dangerous situation..." he tailed off, having been given no encouragement by the set jaw and flashing eyes of his dinner companion.  
  
"And what exactly do you propose we do about it?" A few diners looked up at her raised voice, so Lara made a deliberate effort to speak quieter. "If we don't go after the grail right now then Mr King sure as hell isn't going to wait around for, say, seven months..."  
  
She was cut off mid-argument however by a man shouting loudly across the room as he bounded up to their table, "West?"  
  
"Oh, God," Alex groaned, recognising the voice. He tried to hide behind his menu, but to no avail.  
  
"What the hell are you doing here?" Lara cringed at the loud American accent of the man who came bounding up to the table.  
  
"Al!" the guy pulled up a chair to their table with one hand as he clapped Alex on the back with the other.  
  
"Jimmy Campbell!" Alex replied with as much enthusiasm as he could muster, but a grimace at Lara. He changed it to a smile as he turned to face his old friend.  
  
"So? Are you here on holiday with your lovely girlfriend?"  
  
"No, business," Alex replied. "This is my, er, associate, Lara Croft." He turned to Lara, "this is James Campbell, we were at college together."  
  
"Associate eh?" James asked, taking Lara's hand. "A real pleasure," he said as he took in her appearance. He then looked at Alex with an expression that seemed to say 'fair game then?'. Alex shook his head slightly and James shrugged. Lara wondered to herself how men could possibly believe that women never noticed these little exchanges.  
  
"I'm here on business too," the American said, "all alone. Mind if I join you?"  
  
"I think perhaps you already have," Lara said in her best dead-pan voice, looking at him properly for the first time. His dark hair was gelled stiffly back and his features were chiselled in an obviously handsome kind of way.  
  
"Wow! Love your accent! What are you like British aristocracy or something?"  
  
"Actually, yes," Lara replied, turning back to her menu and wishing the guy would stop putting exclamation marks at the end of all his sentences.  
  
"Lara is the Duchess of Saint Bridget," Alex explained, enjoying the effect that had on his friend.  
  
James gave a low whistle. "Cool!" he said as he helped himself to a glass of their wine. "Have you guys ordered yet?"  
  
*  
  
Over dinner James flirted outrageously with Lara, much to Alex's obvious annoyance. Lara couldn't resist flirting back just to wind her 'associate' up, but despite the brewing argument she couldn't help wanting to be alone with him again. As the meal wore on, the amused, progressing to annoyed glances she exchanged with Alex became more and more frequent.  
  
James noticed Lara's untouched glass of wine, which she'd abandoned after remembering that she wasn't supposed to be drinking. When he questioned her, Lara decided to see what effect the truth would have on him, particularly because she was getting fed up with him staring at her chest. "I'm pregnant," she told him with a slight smile, "I'm going to have a baby."  
  
Lara looked from one man to the other. James looked as if he'd just been punched in the stomach, and Alex was leaning back in his chair, watching his friend with amusement.  
  
"Uh huh," James said and quit looking at Lara's breasts to look at his wristwatch instead. "Wow, is that the time? I have to be up early so I'll have to leave you guys to it. It was great seeing you again Al, and uh, great to meet you Lady Croft." He dropped some cash on the table, then as he edged out of the restaurant Lara and Alex allowed themselves to laugh at his quick exit.  
  
"Are you sure you want to hang out with a pregnant lady?" Lara asked.  
  
"Are you kidding? When she's this beautiful?"  
  
*  
  
When they got back to the hotel and stopped in the corridor outside their rooms Alex reached out a hand to touch Lara for the first time. His hand rested gently on her shoulder as they looked into each other's eyes, both sure that the other could hear the sound of their heart beating heavily.  
  
"Seeing as we're pretending to get on..." Alex murmured, his face close to Lara's now.  
  
"What are you suggesting Alex?"  
  
Alex gave a lop-sided smile as he pushed Lara gently up against the stretch of wall which separated their respective bedroom doors, with the bravery that came from the four glasses of wine he had consumed. "I'm suggesting that you look incredibly sexy in that dress," his eyes flickered over her body, "and that we should pretend not to hate each other for a little while longer. In my bedroom."  
  
He steadied himself with one hand on the wall as he leant forward to brush his lips against Lara's, then stood back again to watch her reaction. Thankfully she smiled and grabbed his shirt collar to pull him in for a real kiss.  
  
"Now would I have done that if I hate you?" she asked sweetly.  
  
Alex raised his eyebrows at her and shrugged. "Right now I don't really care," he said, already rummaging through his pockets for his key. "Dammit!" he swore, being unable to find it.  
  
"The lack of a key didn't seem too much of an obstacle for you earlier, when I found you on my bed," Lara said with a smile, "perhaps you'd like to go back the way you came?"  
  
Alex hit himself on the forehead, of course that was why he didn't have his key. He laughed at his own stupidity, he actually would have to go back across the balconies. "It's a little dark for leaping across six foot gaps, perhaps I could wait in your bed until it's light?"  
  
Lara had to laugh as well at the terrible line, but she unlocked her door and allowed Alex to follow her inside. 


	27. Control

A/N: just to warn you, there's lots of R rated stuff in this chapter so if you're offended by that kind of thing just skip this one, you won't miss any plot. What am I saying, this is what you've all been waiting for, isn't it?  
  
*  
  
"You know what your problem is Lara?" Alex asked between kisses.  
  
Lara pulled away and stood facing him in the dim light that came from a streetlamp outside her bedroom window.  
  
"No, but I'm sure you're about to tell me..." she paused, cocking her head to one side with a thoughtful expression, "hang on, how is this trying to get on with me?"  
  
Alex shrugged and decided he would tell her. "Your problem Lara, is that you always have to be in control." He said it as if he'd just laid the winning card on the table.  
  
As could be expected, Lara didn't seem overly impressed. "I'm beginning to think you actually enjoy arguing with me - as soon as things are going well you purposely go and say something like that to provoke me."  
  
Alex hung his head but began moving closer to her. "I didn't say it to try and provoke you, I'm just trying to get to the bottom of why we keep fighting."  
  
"Other than you saying things that you know will annoy me?" Her voice was raised now.  
  
Alex rubbed a hand across his face, trying to decide how best to deal with the situation that was arising. He really didn't want to get punched again - Lara normally made him slightly nervous but when she was pregnant, with all those hormones flying around...well, she was unpredictable to put it mildly. "Are you saying it's not true? That you don't always have to be in control?"  
  
Lara thought for a second, maybe he did have a point. She wasn't going to admit that though. "Yes, Alex, I am. I can cope with not being in control. It's just things work out much better if I am," this last part under her breath.  
  
Her adversary smiled slightly at this and nodded. "Prove it," he said, a twinkle in his eye just discernible in the dark room.  
  
This made Lara suspicious. "How?" she asked cautiously, crossing her arms.  
  
"You'll see," Alex replied, grinning broadly now as he moved to stand right in front of her and gently cupped her face with his hands. He leant forward and directed her face so that their lips met. Lara didn't respond at first, but eventually she relented, uncrossing her arms and placing them around his waist as they kissed deeply. The feelings of pleasure that him kissing her aroused simply couldn't be ignored.  
  
Sliding his hands down her shoulders, then her arms, Alex gripped Lara's wrists gently but firmly and began to push her backwards towards the bed. She allowed herself to be lowered down, but struggled instinctively when Alex attempted to push one arm then the other back onto the pillows behind her head. He gritted his teeth and found extra strength to get her pinned down, then smiled at her angry expression.  
  
"Lara, you said you didn't have to be in control!" he exclaimed with amusement as he transferred her hands to one of his and used his body weight to press down and prevent her getting free.  
  
Lara opened her mouth to protest, but thought better off it and closed it again. She struggled vainly against his grip, but he was, frustratingly, stronger than her.  
  
"You're just proving my point!" Alex laughed easily, as he used his free hand to lift Lara's dress up over her body, pausing when he couldn't get it off because he was holding her hands down against the bed.  
  
He released her and Lara allowed him to remove her only item of clothing with a sigh. "Why do I have to prove mine in a way that is so much fun for you?" she grumbled.  
  
Alex growled in response, then silenced her protests with a passionate kiss. Lara reached out one of her now-free hands and ran it down his chest, stroking the toned muscles under his shirt, then down to his crotch, which she began to massage as they continued to kiss. Alex let her for a while, then reluctantly removed her hand and pushed it down onto the bed again with a shake of his head, taking hold of her other hand at the same time to put her back in the captured position.  
  
He ran his other hand lightly over her cheek, then down over her body. Lara arched her back as he brushed it over her left breast, and smiling at the effect this had he proceeded to repeat the action a couple of times before stopping, which elicited a frustrated moan.  
  
"Now, are you going to stay put or am I going to have to tie you up?"  
  
Lara's eyes popped open at the question and she caught Alex's penetrating gaze. The thought caused the burning feeling of desire in her very centre to increase, but at the same time the idea of being tied up was instinctively alarming to her and she automatically pulled against his grip before realising what she was doing.  
  
"If that's the way you want to play it," Alex teased, a smile spreading across his face again as he used his free hand to loosen his tie. He roughly pulled it off and leant down to catch Lara's mouth in an urgent kiss. As he tried to pull away she caught his bottom lip between her teeth causing him to groan slightly and release his grip on her wrists somewhat as they continued to kiss. Feeling uncomfortable, he lowered his body until he was lying on top of her. Lara rubbed her naked body slightly against his erection eliciting a gasp from Alex, who couldn't help but respond to her movements. He pulled away from the kiss and began frantically kissing and biting her neck as he moved against her.  
  
Lara took the opportunity to pull her hands free. "How do you expect to control me if you can't even control yourself?" she commented.  
  
Alex stopped what he was doing, "right, that's it, you asked for it!" he said with a glint in his eye. Before Lara could protest, he grabbed her wrists again and forced them up behind her head, then used the tie he had just taken off to fasten them quickly to one of the bedposts.  
  
He then sat back to look with satisfaction at the naked woman tied to the bed, while he remained fully clothed. "So, I think I'm pretty much in control of this situation now," he told her as he began to place kisses all over her body, everywhere except the one place she was desperate to feel his lips.  
  
"Alex..." she groaned, eyes tightly shut.  
  
He looked up, "what?"  
  
"I...I want you," she said simply.  
  
"I know," he replied with a grin, "but I'm in control, I get to decide when."  
  
"Please?"  
  
Alex relented slightly and brushed a hand against her intimate area. She involuntarily bucked her hips against the sensation as she gasped out loud. He laughed slightly at her response and placed his hands under her hips to hold her where he wanted. "Wow, this is torture for you isn't it?" he asked, as Lara screwed her eyes tight shut in anticipation of what she desperately wanted him to do.  
  
"Oh...my...god," she breathed as he touched his tongue ever so gently against her clit, and then began slowly moving it in the way he knew she enjoyed most. She writhed against him but Alex held her still as he continued to pleasure her. The sensation was too much for Lara to bear but there was nothing she could do to stop him dictating the intense feelings his actions were creating.  
  
"No, that's too much," she groaned, but this only encouraged Alex to increase the obviously unbearable stimulation. Sliding two fingers easily inside her he began to caress her until by her moaning he could tell he'd found her g-spot. Rubbing this area in time with the movements of his tongue quickly led to Lara shouting his name and trying desperately to pull away from his grip.  
  
"This is..." she stopped mid-sentence as the familiar waves of pleasure suddenly spread over her body, but more intensely than she had ever experienced before and she couldn't help but scream out loud. Alex continued to flick gently with his tongue until she eventually stopped contracting around his fingers, at which point he looked up at the satisfied expression her face. He grinned like a cheshire cat and crawled up the bed until he was positioned above her to look at it more closely.  
  
Lara opened her eyes and smiled equally broadly back at him. "I'll have to tie you up more often," he commented as he began to loosen her bonds. He paused, "but if I let you go will you promise not to try and take control?" Lara looked at him quizzically, "I'm not nearly done with you yet," he growled in explanation.  
  
She nodded in acquiescence, but as soon as her hands were free she put them to use removing Alex's clothes as quickly as possible. As soon as she was done, however, he pushed her back down onto the bed, unable to do anything but enter her immediately and pump into her hungrily, like a man who hadn't eaten for a week. He very quickly felt he was about to climax and slowed down slightly but this hardly changed matters. Breathing heavily he just managed to murmur "I'm sorry," into Lara's ear before exploding inside her as he buried his face in the pillow by her head.  
  
She laughed softly and stroked Alex's hair as he lazily kissed her shoulder.  
  
"Don't laugh at me, I couldn't help it," he grumbled almost incoherently, his face still in the pillow.  
  
"I was laughing at you apologising," she explained, hugging his hot, sticky body tightly against her own. 


End file.
